The Spirit Within: Part Two: Spirit Born
by sea-dilemma
Summary: Abandoned after Zuko's tragic agni kai, Lan Chi, child of the Water Tribe, struggles to live without the one she loves. Zuko, haunted by their love, is condemned to wander the world, searching for the avatar. But then, when the Fire Lord sends for Lan, she undertakes a daring plan to save those closest to her heart. Sequel to "The Spirit Within: Part One: The Water Tribe Child."
1. Chapter 1

This is the second part of my ATLA fanfic entitled _The Spirit Within_. If you have not read part one, _The Spirit Within: Part One: The Water Tribe Child_, you may want to do that before reading this. It will make things a whole lot easier to understand.

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN _NICKELODEON'S AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER_ OR ITS CHARACTERS. I just post about as well as Korra drives...**

* * *

_**Prologue**_

* * *

"Well, what have you done this time?"

Lan Chi looked up from the documents she was transcribing. "What do you mean?"

Ming Yi tossed a parchment onto the desk. Lan could see the broken royal seal on the edge of the paper.

"The Fire Lord has invited you to the palace." The older woman's eyes narrowed.

Lan Chi put down her brush and looked at the invitation idly. "Must I go?" She pushed it back to her aunt with the tip of one ink-stained finger.

"Oh, yes. You most definitely _must_ go."

* * *

_**Chapter 1**_

* * *

_**Two Years Earlier**_

Zuko watched impassively as the girl he loved threw herself fruitlessly against the fence that barred her from reaching him. She was crying; he could see that from this distance – tears streaming down her beautiful face, her face contorted in grief and anger.

He gripped the railing of the ship until his knuckles were white, and, when she called his name, when she pleaded with him to take her with them, he drew a deep breath, turned on his heel, and disappeared into the bowels of the ship.

* * *

"They're gone." A man stood between Lan Chi and the sun, and she squinted up at him through her tears. It was a man who, earlier, had refused to open a gate that would have allowed her to reach Zuko's boat. He stood next to the gate, now open, and she had a sudden urge to call up a curtain of sea water to encase him in a block of ice and float him away on the current.

His face was grim. "Go home now."

She looked out over the ocean. "I don't have a home anymore."

He sighed, looked away, and then turned back to her "Well, you can't stay here. There is another ship that must be loaded." He waved a hand dismissively. "Go cry somewhere else."

She got up slowly. What did it matter where she went? She walked back through the port to the ostrich horse she had abandoned, and found it, surprisingly, still tied where she had left it. Some kind person had given the animal water, and she petted the bird's head absently. "Come on, boy." She untied it, and pulled it gently towards the exit.

Once outside the port's gates, she wandered aimlessly through the streets. She did not want to go back to the palace, and she did not want to return to Ember Island, where all her plans and all her hopes lay in tatters. She did not know where to go. She had money in her pocket, a strong ostrich horse, her bow and arrows, most of her knives, and some clothing. She could leave. She could walk right out of the city gates, get on the horse, and be gone into the Fire Nation in minutes. Or she could disappear into the city. It was a vast city. She could lose herself here, with no one the wiser. No one would look for her. Who would look for her, after all? No one cared. The only people who cared were on a ship sailing farther away from her every minute. And did they _really _care? Uncle Iroh had stood on the deck watching her, not helping her – just giving her a silent wave. And Zuko – she had not even seen him.

Tears came to her eyes again. She had not seen him. He was gone from her life, and she had not even gotten a chance to see him. She had not even gotten a chance to say goodbye.

The tears came in earnest now, blurring her vision. She stumbled into someone, but did not even murmur an apology as she lurched away. She hit her knee on a stone bench, and, swearing indiscriminate words, she collapsed on it and put her head in her hands. She sat there weeping for perhaps ten minutes, heedless of the stares from passersby, indifferent to their looks of pity or distaste.

Finally, the crying trailed off like the end of a summer storm, slow and unsure. She wiped her wet face and streaming nose on her sleeve and looked around her. She was not far from the palace. She could turn for it, or turn away, and try to find a new life. A new life in which no one knew her, and in which she knew no one.

She stood, and pulled the horse after her.

* * *

Zuko stomped up the stairs, heading for his chamber. Although the most well-appointed stateroom on the ship, having been the captain's, it was small and sparse, and dark. There was only one window, and it was long and narrow, set high up in a wall, with red glass in it. Red glass! Who put red glass in a window?

There was little furniture in the room. An altar, a small wall table, a bureau, a low table for eating or planning, and a futon, on the floor, on which to sleep. He looked at the mattress with distaste. He had to sleep on the floor. He didn't even get a real bed.

Trunks containing all of his possessions sat in the middle of the room. His entire life, crammed into four wooden boxes. He sighed, walked over to them, and threw one open. Inside, on top, lay the portrait of his mother. He touched it reverently, and brought it out. It belonged on the altar. He placed it there, turned it slightly, and sighed.

"Oh, Mom. I really messed things up."

Her portrait was silent, looking back at him with kind, loving eyes. He tried not to cry, but failed, and wiped the tears away with his sleeve impatiently.

He went back to the trunk, pulled out some books and tossed them on his bed. Beneath was a familiar red cloth. He reached in with shaking hands and touched it. It was his agni kai drape. Someone had packed it.

His face twisted in pain. The only thing that Lan had ever given him. He began to remove it, but realized that it was wound around something. His dao swords. He carried the bundle over to the bureau and unwrapped the swords. He laid them aside and picked up the agni kai cloth. He folded it into a small bundle, opened the lowest drawer in the bureau, and slid it within.

He did not want to get rid of it, but he did not – _could not_ – look at it daily.

* * *

Lan approached the palace on leaden feet. It looked the same as it always did - majestic and proud, its main tower thrusting up into the sky. She had always loved it – even after Ozai had usurped the throne, she still thought of it as her home, as the place where her family lived. It was not that now, however. Now it was just an empty shell. A place where no love lived for her.

She stopped and looked at it for a long time. Was it safe to return there? Obviously, Uncle had not thought it safe for her to _live_ there. She took a deep breath and walked to her family entrance. There were a few guards milling about, but no one noticed her or cared. She tied the horse to the hitching post there. It was only a rented horse, after all. It should be returned. She stroked its head absently, and left it there, turning away from her home without a backwards look. She walked along the wall that separated the palace from the city proper, dragging her hand along the rough wall. She stopped as the main gate rolled open, and she noticed that a curious crowd was beginning to gather. She stepped back as the crowd grew.

A contingent of guards came through the gate. Royal Guards! That could only mean one thing – either Azula or Ozai was about to emerge. She darted around the edge of the crowd as the guards fanned out.

"Make way for the Fire Lord!" One of the guards shouted, and held his hands out to urge the people away. They stepped back obediently, and Lan was forced farther back in the crowd. The group of citizens began to grow even larger; after all, the Fire Lord did not emerge from his palace frequently. Lan Chi wondered why he had decided to appear today. Was it to show his nation that, even after the banishment of his son, he remained strong – unaffected? Or was this how he celebrated victory over Iroh? For, surely, he had beaten Iroh – the marriage that Iroh had wanted and that Ozai had despised was not to be, and Iroh was gone, no longer a thorn in Ozai's side.

A large palanquin was carried through the gate, and a roar of approval went up from those gathered there. Lan felt sick to her stomach. How could these people _cheer _for him – a man who had burned and banished his _only son_? Didn't they know? Didn't they know what a monster he was? Didn't they _care_?

The palanquin's drapes were pulled back, and, by jumping, she could see Ozai sitting there, acknowledging the shouts of adoration, a small smile on his face. She grabbed the shoulders of two men in front of her, ignoring their looks of indignation, and used them to propel herself higher. She could see that the Fire Lord's palanquin was turning, as if to go into the city.

Without thinking, she moved along the back of the throng, trying to position herself in front of Ozai's litter. The palanquin was moving slowly, majestically, and she had little trouble getting around before it. There was a tree near what she supposed was his intended route, and she ran to it and hoisted herself into its branches. She climbed until she was far enough up that someone would have to purposely look up to find her.

Almost without conscious thought, she removed the bow from her back, and fit an arrow into it. She found a clear spot amongst the leaves, and she drew the bowstring back, waiting for her prey. An arrow just above the collar, just above the armor. Right into the neck. It would kill him instantly. There would be no pain. And then Zuko would be Fire Lord. Zuko would be Fire Lord, and he would come back, and they would be married. And Ozai would get what he deserved. A just payment for his transgressions. For his cruelty.

It would be so easy.

So easy.

So easy.

Ozai came bumping around the corner on his palanquin, right into her sight. She closed her eyes. She could almost feel her fingers release the nock, could feel the wood of the arrow shiver as it left the bow, could feel the rustle of the leaves as the arrow shot away from her through the tree, and towards Ozai.

She drew a deep breath – a cleansing breath, a breath of _power_. She had such power. Power to change her life. Power to change Zuko's life. Power to change the world.

She opened her eyes. Ozai was there, below her, a _perfect _target.

_You are not an assassin. Not a murderer. _She heard a voice that sounded like Iroh's, or perhaps Jiao Ao's.

_It is **justice**, not murder. _

_This is not the answer. _The voice responded.

_It is **my**__answer._

_You would kill another human_?

_It's a war. _She told herself. _ People die all the time_.

_Not at your hands_.

_He would kill me, if he could_.

_If he wanted you dead, you would be dead. _

She closed her eyes for a long moment.

_Would Zuko thank you for killing his father_? The voice was insistent.

The answer was clear to her. _He would hate me_. _I would hate myself_.

She lowered the bow with a shuddering breath. Spirits help her, she could not do it. She was _not_ a murderer; she was _not_ an assassin. She could not kill Zuko's father.

She was weak.

* * *

She sat in the tree for a long while – long after he had passed and the crowd had dissipated. She wanted to cry again – for everything that she had lost, for everything that Ozai had cost her. But the tears would not come, and she wondered if she had any left. She sighed heavily. Another thing that she had lost. Luckily, though, she had not lost her judgment completely – she had not gone through with what her mind had been screaming at her to do.

She finally slid down the tree and, once on the ground, she looked around. Time to make a decision – to stay or to go. If she stayed, she would go to her unknown aunt's home. If she left, she would be entirely on her own, and despite her bravado, she knew that she was mostly vulnerable - vulnerable to the elements, vulnerable to men who wished to prey upon her. She had _some_ money, but not a lot. And she was only _thirteen_ – too young to survive on her own.

So, she would journey to her aunt's home and live there, if her aunt would take her; she, a twice orphaned nobody with cursed red hair and cursed luck. She would make a life there. A life without Zuko and Iroh, but a life nonetheless. She would never marry, of course – her heart was, and always would be Zuko's, and, if she could not have him, she would have no other.

The walk back to the palace was quick, and, at her family entrance, she saw that the ostrich horse was still there. She resolved to tell Hua, Iroh's housekeeper and the only mother she had known for years, about it. Spirits only knew how much the poor woman had paid when Lan had made off with the animal.

She walked slowly through the palatial halls back to her home – a home that was a home no more. The courtyard of Iroh's quarters looked shabby somehow, and the blossoms that hung on the cherry tree looked disconsolate and droopy.

She had just put her hand on the knob when it was yanked from her grasp, and the door pulled open. Hua stood there, her face was a mask of shock. "My - my lady!"

Lan Chi, confronted with a familiar, sympathetic face, dropped her bag and her bow, and threw herself into the housekeeper's arms.

"Oh, my lady! Why are you here? Why are you not on Prince Iroh's ship?"

"They left me, Hua. Uncle saw me, but he left me behind." From the depths of Hua's robe, Lan's voice was strangled. "They left me. As if I was _nothing_. As if I wasn't even worthy of a good-bye."

Hua put Lan away from her. "That is not true, my lady! You know that it is not!"

"I _don't _know that! They could have _stopped_! They could have let me see them – one last time, and they _did not_!" She turned and ran up the stairs to her room.

She stopped when she reached the open door of her chamber. Her room was empty – empty of all her possessions. Only the furniture remained: the bed, stripped to its mattress, her vanity, cleared of all ribbons and accessories, and the bookshelf, bare.

She closed the door behind her, and walked across to the bed, her heels echoing loudly in the emptiness. She sank down on it and looked around. Her life was gone – packed up in a box somewhere. She gave a deep sigh, propped her elbows on her knees, and held her head in her hands. Could this day get any worse? Could her life get any worse?

_Careful, Lan_. _You know it could_.

She looked up at a soft knock on the door.

"Go away!" She called, and threw herself on the bed, face to the wall.

She heard the door open, and she tucked herself into a ball.

"My lady?" It was Hua.

"Go away, Hua. I don't want to see anyone right now."

"I know, my lady, but we dare not dally. Prince Iroh felt it imperative that you leave for your aunt Ming's immediately."

She lifted her head. "I know. I know. I'm not _safe_ here. Ozai might _do_ something to me."

"Hush, my lady! You must not say those things so loud."

She sat up and turned to the housekeeper. "Or what? What can he do that is worse that what he has done?"

Hua's face darkened. "Throw you in prison for sedition. Have you executed. Are those _worse_?"

Lan sighed. "Yes. They're worse." She stood and walked to her vanity, looking at her sad reflection in the mirror there. Her skin was blotchy, her eyes red, her hair a tangled mess. "What a mess I am." She sat on the vanity bench. "Everything's a mess. Everything."

"I know you think that way now, my lady, but –"

Lan interrupted her. "But what? I'll be _happy _in time?"

"Yes. You will."

"You don't know that."

"I know you. And I know you make your own happiness. And I know that you wouldn't let _other people_ win and destroy that."

She shrugged. "I don't know, Hua. I really don't."

Hua shrugged, as well. "If you want to let him get the best of you..."

Lan looked at Hua shrewdly. "It won't work."

"What?"

"I don't want revenge. I thought that – I did. I almost did something – _foolish_, Hua. I almost lost control. I can't think of revenge. I might do something that I would – regret."

She looked surprised. "I didn't tell you to get revenge, my lady. Just be happy enough to infuriate him. It would,

wouldn't it?"

She shook her head. "It might. It might not."

"It would. You know that it would."

"Maybe. But I am a _long _way from happy. I don't even _want_ to be happy right now. I just want to be miserable and feel sorry for myself and – and _miss _them. And I do. I miss them so much – already." She scuffed at the floor with the toe of her boot.

"I know."

"And I _am_ mad. I'm livid. With Ozai, for being such a – a _jerk_, and with Uncle, for leaving me behind, and with Zuko, for being _stupid_ enough to get himself involved in this mess in the first place." She put her hands over her face. "And with me, for letting myself get stuck here _again_."

"You aren't stuck here."

She dropped her hands. "Oh, yes. I'm to go to my Aunt Ming Yi's. _Lucky _woman, to get saddled with someone no one else wants." She looked straight ahead, willing herself to not cry. "No one else wants me. No one." Hua was quiet, and Lan looked at her. "You know it's true."

"I know no such thing."

She shook her head ruefully. "If Uncle had wanted me, he would have taken me, whatever Ozai said." She shrugged. "He didn't. And if Zuko –" she stopped, trying to gather herself, "If Zuko wanted me, he would have found a way. I know him. When he wants something, he doesn't give up. But he gave up." She expelled a long breath. "He gave me up."

Something in the trash can next to the vanity caught her eye, and she bent to retrieve it. It was the rose that Zuko had given her the night of the genbuku – the Princess Ursa rose that he had tucked into her hair. It seemed so long ago – that night. It seemed like a dream. Maybe it had been a dream. Maybe everything that had happened had been a dream. Maybe Zuko had never been real at all. It certainly felt that way now. As if he had existed only in her mind. But she had the rose. That proved it.

That he was real.

That he had loved her.

And this was all the proof that she needed. And all that she was ever likely to have.

* * *

Zuko was sick. He was very, very sick. He had been throwing up almost since they had left the bay – he had thrown up so much that all that he lad left to throw up was his own stomach acid. The vomiting had caused great pain to his eye – for every heave of his stomach, the damaged skin of his face seemed to alight with pain.

So he lay on his thin mattress on the floor of his new cabin, and, for not the first time in the past three days, wished that he were dead. All he felt was pain. His eye hurt. His throat hurt. His stomach hurt. His head hurt. His chest hurt. _Everything _hurt.

His uncle sat beside him, holding a cool cloth to his nephew's forehead. He could almost not bear seeing the boy like this. He lay on the futon, one hand flung out, pale and motionless. His one visible eye was closed, and there were dark circles beneath it. The skin on his face was marked with tiny red blotches – blood vessels broken from the force of his vomiting – and he was breathing heavily, as if he had run a long way.

The doctor beside Iroh looked at the young prince.

"I have the draught ready. It will put him to sleep, if he can keep it down."

Iroh gave a weary shrug. "I do not know if he can. But we have little choice. He either remains awake and continues being sick, or he falls asleep, and can at least sleep through the worst of the nausea."

The doctor nodded grimly. "Could you lift him up, please, General?"

Iroh nodded, and gently shook Zuko's shoulder. "Prince Zuko, the doctor has some medicine that may help you. You must try to keep it down."

The young man groaned. His eye flickered open, full of pain, and he focused on his uncle, although it took him a long moment. He nodded and Iroh lifted the boy's torso off the mattress. Zuko opened his mouth obediently, and the doctor poured the liquid down his throat. He shivered as he swallowed it down.

He slid off Iroh's shoulder and back onto the floor, staring blankly at the wall ahead of him, trying consciously to keep the tonic down, but, after a few seconds, it came back up, and he threw up all over the floor in front of him.

Iroh groaned in sympathy, and patted his nephew's shoulder. "It will be all right, Prince Zuko. It will pass soon enough."

The doctor jumped to clean the mess, and Iroh moved Zuko back onto his bed, drawing the sheet over him gently.

The doctor finished his task, and he beckoned Iroh over to him.

"He will not die from this, of course, but I am worried about what the constant vomiting is doing to his wound. It is possible that he is tearing the scab open and therefore disrupting the healing process."

"Is there anything else that can be done?"

The doctor shook his head. "Not really." He looked over at Zuko and sighed. "I have never seen such a severe case. It is very cruel of the spirits to add this to the prince's miseries."

Iroh's mouth compressed. "We cannot lay the blame for Prince Zuko's misfortunes on the spirits. There is only one person responsible for this, and he is back in the capital."

The doctor put a hand to his head. "I feel so useless. I do not even know if there is any worth to me being here."

Iroh shook his head and laid a hand on the man's shoulder. "Do not say that. I surely do not think it. I thank the spirits that you are here. I know that it is only temporary – that you will only be with us until Zuko's bandages are removed, but I am very grateful. Prince Zuko is very grateful. And you are very much needed."

The other man gave a somber smile. "Thank you, General." He looked at Zuko again. "Perhaps he kept enough down for there to be an effect. We can hope."

Iroh sighed. "Yes. There is always hope." He laid a heavy hand on the doctor's arm. "Perhaps tea will help him. I have some lovely mint tea that always soothes my stomach."

"Mint _can_ settle nausea."

Iroh gave a firm nod, and opened the door – to find Lieutenant Jee standing there, fist raised as if to knock. Iroh, who had met Jee briefly earlier as they pulled out of port, was startled, and took a step back.

The man lowered his hand quickly, and gave a quick bow. "General Iroh, Sir. I am sorry if I surprised you."

"Not at all, Lieutenant. How may I help you?"

"We have been heading due north, as Prince Zuko ordered, but, if we continue on this heading, we will run into –" He paused.

"Into?"

"Land, Sir."

"Oh. Well, that is not good."

"No, Sir. Is – is Prince Zuko well?" He curiously peered over Iroh's shoulder into the room.

Iroh shook his head sadly. "I am afraid he is not in any shape to give orders."

"I see. Could you, perhaps..." he trailed off.

"Yes. Yes. Of course. Avoid the collision with the – land, but continue taking us north. We must leave Fire Nation waters as soon as we can."

* * *

Iroh was having trouble sleeping. He should not have been – spirits knew that he was tired enough. He had not slept at all the night before, trying to tie up all his affairs, and, to be frank, his sleep since the disastrous war meeting had been _unsettled_, to say the least.

He knew why he could not sleep, of course. Besides his worry over Zuko's health, and Zuko's well-being, and Zuko's _impossible_ task, and Zuko's mental state, he was worried almost to distraction over Lan Chi. He had been aghast when he had seen her on the pier, and had wrestled with himself over whether to stop the ship and take her on, Ozai be damned, or whether to leave her. He chose the latter simply by doing _nothing_, and, since then, he had been very uneasy about her fate. He had not wanted her to return to the capital – he could not shake the feeling that there was _danger_ there for her – and seeing her there had upset him greatly. However, there was nothing that he could do about it now – he had to trust in his employees to see to it that she was protected, and that her departure to her aunt's was safe, and quick.

That did not mean that his guilt had abated. He felt as if he had abandoned her a second time – something that he had never intended, or had ever wanted. Fate was being very unkind to her – and he felt that he was, as well.

And he could do nothing about it. It was out of his hands. He was powerless, and it was a feeling that he did not like. He did not like it at all.

* * *

The next morning, Iroh settled down at the low table in his chamber, and smiled at the man who had just sat down across from him.

Although Zuko seemed to be acclimating to the sea, the poor boy was still confined to his bed, so Iroh had volunteered to interview the new crew and report back to Zuko.

"Tea?" Iroh lifted the pot before him. "It is ginseng. My favorite."

Lieutenant Jee looked at him with suspicion, his expression forbidding. He had never been offered tea by a superior, and most certainly never by a prince of the realm. "No, Sir. Thank you – Sir."

Iroh looked disappointed. "Oh. Well, then, do you mind?" He indicated his own empty cup, and Jee shook his head quickly. Iroh smiled again, and poured himself a cup. He set the pot down, took a long sip from his cup, and made a sound of satisfaction. "Delicious." He seemed lost in the taste for a long moment, then shook his head and looked at Jee.

"So, Lieutenant Jee," Iroh pulled the man's order papers off a stack in front of him. "Where were you assigned before this?"

Jee's face became a mask that was, if possible, even more remote and formidable than it had been before. "Prison – Sir."

Iroh's brows shot up, and he looked closely at the top paper of the stack. Not finding the information he sought, he shuffled to the next page. "Oh, er. Yes. I see. Prison. Well." He put the pages down and folded his hands across his belly, his eyes fixed on Jee warily. "How interesting." He nodded. "Yes. Interesting. What – um – _why_ exactly were you in prison?"

Jee had expected this question – and the dismissal that would follow his answer. In fact, he expected to be put off the ship at the next port. He also expected what would follow that – disgrace and poverty. "Fighting, Sir."

"Fighting?" Iroh was surprised. "Fighting is not an imprison-able offense, is it, Lieutenant?"

"The fight was with my commanding officer." Jee's words were clipped.

"Oh. I see. Well. Heh."

Jee decided to admit all. "Over his wife."

Iroh's brows nearly disappeared into his hairline. "My." He shuffled the papers in front of him. "Over his – well." He smiled nervously. "Who won?"

"I did – Sir."

Iroh nodded vigorously. "Good. Good. Good man in a fight, then? Excellent!" He straightened the papers with a snap on the surface of the table. "I do not care about your past, Lieutenant. My concern is your conduct going forward – and your fidelity. My nephew needs _loyal _men – men whom he can trust. Can you be one of those men, Lieutenant?"

Jee was astounded. He was not going to be removed from his post? He was not going to be put off the ship? This general – this _prince_ wanted him, despite his record?

Jee puffed up his chest. "Yes, Sir. I certainly can be."

* * *

Iroh gave a long, aggrieved sigh as the last crew member to be interviewed left the room. He spread the men's order papers across the surface of the table, and reviewed the results. The helmsman had been in prison because of insubordination. The engineer for thievery. The cook for public drunkenness. All of the firebenders had been accused of either laziness or drunkenness or both. The entire crew, in fact, had been in prison until two days before. Iroh shook his head. Ozai had populated his own son's entire ship with a mixture of criminals, drunks, idlers, and belligerents.

It would be an interesting journey, that was certain.

The door opened, and Zuko stepped into his uncle's room. He was paler than usual, and seemed shrunken in his armor and uniform, like a boy playing at dress-up. The bandage around his head looked garishly large and white, further heightening his fragile appearance. He put an unsteady hand on the door jamb.

"Zuko!" Iroh rose and rushed over to him. "You should be in bed! You are not well yet."

The young man shrugged off his uncle's hands. "I'm fine! I'm fine! I can't lay in that bed and vomit for the rest of my life. I have to get up. I have to start searching for the avatar!"

Iroh gave a silent sigh. "We've only been at sea for one day, Zuko. You must take time to get recover before we go searching for the avatar."

Zuko drew his one brow down truculently. "We'll start now. Why wait? So I can be sure that I'm blind in one eye?"

"Zuko, the doctors said that there was a very good probability that your sight is unaffected."

"A good _probability_. Which means there is a _possibility_ that I am blind in that eye. And with my – _luck_," he spat the word, "I'm probably blind. I'm not going to wait until the bandage comes off. There's no need. I want to start looking for the avatar immediately."

"Zuko..."

"I'm going to the bridge now and tell them to set a course for the Western Air Temple."

"I'll do that, Prince Zuko." Iroh desperately wanted Zuko to sit. He looked about ready to collapse.

"No. I'll go."

Iroh shook his head. "I wanted you to read these men's records anyway. You do that, and I'll go."

The look Zuko sent his uncle was a mixture of anger and relief. "All right. I'll look at them – if you think that I should."

Iroh smiled. "Yes. Sit. I'll be right back."

Zuko gave a brief nod, and sat at the spot his uncle had just vacated. Iroh placed the papers before him, and, with a soft pat on the boy's shoulder, left the room.

Zuko picked up the papers, but could not focus on them. He was so _tired_, so spent. It had taken all his energy to get dressed and don his armor. He had been able to keep down nothing but tea since leaving the capital city the day before. He felt _weak; _his eye throbbed, his head hurt, and his chest was _killing _him from the straining of the vomiting. He was a mess. He was a mess, and he missed his room and he missed his father, and he missed Lan _so much_ that it was a physical pain. He missed touching her and laughing with her and kissing her, and he missed looking forward to seeing her. Every day that he was able to see her had been a little brighter – just knowing that he would spend some of it with her. And now, nothing. He had nothing to look forward to in the immediate future. Nothing but sailing around the world looking for some accursed old man who had been hiding for almost a hundred years. And how would _he_, Zuko, a thirteen year old with marginal firebending skills, hope to defeat and capture someone who had been bending four elements for nearly a century? Truly, his father might as well have told him to ride a dragon home – that task was surely not as difficult as the one he had been given.

He wanted to cry again, but he was sick of crying. He was turning into a watering pot, and tears wouldn't help him anyway. The only thing that would help him was finding the avatar and bringing him home to his father in chains. That would help him. That would give him back everything he had lost. His throne. His honor. And the only girl he would ever love.

* * *

Author's Note: Welcome back, dear readers! I hope that you have been enjoying your summer. Mine has been spent tied to a computer! ; )

This chapter was VERY hard for me to write. I was torn between starting right after Zuko's and Iroh's departure, and jumping ahead several months. Obviously, I chose the former. I also had to do some housekeeping in the story, and set some things up for later.

Now, I will apologize ONE last time for making everyone think that I was posting the first chapter yesterday. It was a mistake on my part for trying to upload the documents so that my betareaders could find them easily. So, please stop posting "I hate you!" reviews. Geez!

Oh, yeah. I have added to my betareader team. Sunflower13 has joined bowow0708, and my thanks go out to both of them.

Next chapter: Lan Chi sets off and Zuko visits an abandoned temple...


	2. Chapter 2

Okay - two chapters in one day to make up for my lapse in uploading. But don't expect two chapters in one day again! This is a special occasion!

I have uploaded a poll, trying to determine the demand for a more "adult" part two. Please visit my profile page to vote, and drop me a PM with any additional comments, if you'd like!

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN _NICKELODEON'S AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER_ OR ITS CHARACTERS. I just find most of their firebenders dreamy...**

* * *

It took Zhushou, Iroh's efficient secretary, still secretly employed by the Dragon of the West, only one day to arrange for passage for Lan Chi and Hua to the Earth Kingdom colony where Lan's paternal aunt Ming Yi lived. It was not, however, going to be a very quick journey. The ship upon which they had found accommodation was going to two other Earth Kingdom colonies prior to Lao Hai, the city where Ming Yi and her husband Fai lived.

That, however, was the only problem that Lan faced during her last days in the capital. Fortunately, and unexpectedly, Ozai did not call for Lan Chi at all while she remained, which was a fortuitous thing in the eyes of Iroh's secretary, since he himself had been brought before the Fire Lord not long after his employer's departure. He had disavowed any knowledge of Iroh's plans or affairs, citing his dismissal the day before, as well as his subsequent employment with Finance Minister Wa, a low-ranking official whose main job was to collect taxes from the eastern Earth Kingdom colonies.

Zhushou had escaped with an admonishment that he should alert the Fire Lord's office should Iroh contact him in any way – at all. Zhushou agreed readily, and he was dismissed with all his body parts intact, which had actually been in doubt at the beginning of his interview.

After he left the Fire Lord's presence, Zhoshou sent a coded message to Jianyu, Iroh's butler, warning him about the need for discretion when dealing with any of Iroh's concerns. He was floored when he received word back that his employer's ward had not only _not gone_ to the Earth Kingdom colonies from Ember Island, as he had arranged prior to Iroh's departure, she had instead come to the capital in the company of Hua, Iroh's housekeeper.

He gave a frustrated growl. _Silly girl_! She should have been on her way already. He spent the better part of the next four hours arranging for her passage the following day, and informing Jianyu.

_And this time_, Zhushou wrote to Jianyu, _you escort her to the ship yourself_.

So, after a tearful good-bye with Jianyu at the same pier she had been at only days before, Lan Chi began the next phase of her life.

A large stateroom was booked for her, as befitted her status as a member of Fire Nation nobility and her connection with the royal household, and Hua was lodged in the servants' quarters below deck.

Hua, who had not been on a ship, other than the small ones that took her to and from Ember Island, since she had come to the capital more than thirty years before, was, like Zuko, horribly seasick. Upon boarding the ship, she had settled Lan Chi in the girl's cabin, spacious enough for the girl and a maid, and found her own way to her accommodation. It was a berth, among many in a long, narrow room. She looked at the bed with distaste. The sheets were only marginally clean, and the curtain that offered her privacy stank of old sick. Wonderful.

She felt the ship lurch as it left the dock, and, despite the roiling in her stomach, she hurried back up to Lan Chi's stateroom. Her charge was gazing solemnly out of the open window at the capital as it started to drift away.

"I never thought that I would leave it." She threw a look over her shoulder at Hua. "I _wanted _to, many times, when Uncle and Lu Ten were gone. I fantasized about going away somewhere. Somewhere where someone _loved_ me." She sighed. "And then, when I – found Zuko, I never, ever wanted to leave it again, because I knew _this_ is where he would always be. And now – he's not. I don't know where he is, and I don't know where Uncle is, and I'm going away, and I'll probably never see either one of them again." She was quiet, and the boat pitched, but she was unaffected. Lan Chi, child of the Water Tribe, was more at home on the ocean than on land.

Hua, however, was not. She barely made it to the open window before losing the remnants of her breakfast. Lan, startled, held the older woman's shoulders as she heaved, and heaved, and heaved.

After a few minutes of gagging, Hua gave a tired gasp, and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

"Hua! I didn't know you had seasickness!"

The older woman nodded. "Everyone from the Fire Nation gets it if they have not spent a lot of time at sea."

"What? But you've gone to Ember Island countless times."

Hua waved a weary hand. "Those waters are calm. It's the deep waters that do a person in."

"Oh. Well. Come and lay down." She tried to guide the woman to the empty maid's bed in a corner of the room.

Hua shook her head vigorously, although the action made her dizzy. "No, no, my lady. I'll not. Just – let me get to the servants' quarters."

"I'll help you, then."

"No. I can manage." She straightened up, but doing so made her a little green.

Lan Chi gave an exasperated sigh. "I will help you there, Hua. And no arguments!"

As they made their way to Hua's quarters, Lan noticed the ship nearly deserted but for the crew, who seemed unaffected by the motion of the deep waves as they rolled the ship back and forth. The ship was through the Great Gates of Azulon by now, and the ocean here was choppier. Hua gave a groan, and Lan guided her to an empty bucket, positioned for just such purposes. After Hua had regained a bit of equilibrium, Lan, supporting the housekeeper, led her through the narrow halls to the even more narrow staircase that led down to the servants' quarters.

Several times she wondered if Hua would make it, but the woman persevered, and they arrived at the door to the servants' quarters. When Lan opened the door, they were met with the rancid, acrid smell of vomit and half-digested food. Lan recoiled, and would have retreated, but Hua pressed forward and lurched on her own to her berth. She fell into it in an undignified heap.

Lan looked at the small bunk, surrounded by equally small bunks that seemed to stretch the length of the ship. She could hear the groans of the afflicted, and, coupled with the smells and the heat that was beginning to build from the sheer number of people and the engine that was probably beneath them, she made a decision.

She shook Hua by her arm. "Get up, Hua. You're coming back to my stateroom with me."

Hua, face down on the pillow, shook her head. "No, my lady," came her muffled voice. "I'll be fine."

"You _will_ be fine, because you are coming with me. I will not leave you here. Where is your bag?"

Hua pointed to the corner of the bed. Lan snatched up the case with one hand, and helped Hua to her feet with the other.

"Let's go now." With an iron grip around the older woman's arm, she half dragged her the long way back to her own stateroom.

Her room, compared to the servants' quarters, was cool, smelled fresh, and was filled with light. She assisted Hua to the maid's bed, and covered her with a thin sheet.

"You lie here. Do you understand me? You are not to move to fetch anything or do anything. I will do it all. Anything you need."

"My lady, you are not –"

"I know what I am, Hua. Now cease chattering and try to fall asleep. That will be best for you, I think. Unless you want tea?"

She shook her head and closed her eyes. Lan stood and watched her for a long moment, then patted her shoulder.

Lan had been worried that she would spend the entire trip brooding over Zuko, but now, it seemed, she would have something to occupy her mind – and her time.

When dinner time came, Lan thought to have a meal in her room, but Hua insisted that Lan go to the dining room. She was to dine at the captain's table, which was a great honor, although, Lan pointed out, she had been invited only because of her connections and her title. Hua waved her away her objections weakly, and Lan reluctantly went, although she refused to change from her traveling clothes. Hua protested this, as well, so Lan changed into a clean robe.

The dining room was practically deserted, which Lan Chi had expected. She had seen enough sick people around the ship to know that few cared about dinner.

A servant showed her to the captain's table. The captain was there already, and he rose from his seat and bowed to her. He was a man who seemed in his mid forties, with silver just starting to show at his temples. He was dressed in a Fire Nation uniform, which gave him quite a dashing air.

"I am Captain Li. And you are?"

Lan bowed in return. "Lady Lan Chi Sun, Sir."

His brows raised in astonishment. "I confess that I am surprised, my lady. I had known that there was a Lady Lan Chi Sun on board, but I had no idea you were so..." he fumbled for words.

"Red haired?" She supplied helpfully.

"Young." He indicated that she should sit, and he followed suit.

"Oh. Well. I am, I suppose. Although I will be fourteen in the summer." She removed the napkin from the table and laid it in her lap.

"My lady, forgive my intrusiveness, but are you, by any chance, related to Admiral Yan Sun?"

She cast her eyes down for a moment. "I am his daughter."

A smile split his face. "Are you, indeed? I served under him – when I was a much younger man – and before he became an admiral."

She smiled noncommittally.

"He was a great man. It was a great tragedy when we lost him."

Her smile became genuine, although sad. "Thank you, Sir. I am honored that you remember him with such fondness." The appetizer came – komodo chicken on skewers.

"I learned much from him."

"I confess that I do not remember much of him. I was very young when he – died." Her voice caught a hitch.

"You lost your mother, as well. I am so sorry."

She inclined her head. "Thank you." She pulled some meat off the skewer and chewed it slowly. It was not her favorite, but she realized that she was very hungry.

A thought came to the man. "You're not traveling alone, I hope?"

She smiled and shook her head. "My uncle's housekeeper accompanies me. Although, at this moment, she is fighting seasickness in my room."

"It is a terrible thing. I remember my first voyage on a ship. I was sick for a week. I was surprised that they allowed me to stay in the navy. But you are not suffering. Have you spent a lot of time on ships, my lady?"

"Not at all. My mother was Water Tribe, and they are not troubled by seasickness."

He stiffened slightly. "Of course. My apologies, my lady. I did not mean to insinuate –"

She waved her hand at him. "Do not trouble yourself. I did not think that you were insulting me. I am not so thin-skinned."

He gave a relieved smile. "Thank goodness." He waited as the appetizer was removed, and the soup brought. "Would your housekeeper care for any special teas?"

Lan laughed. "No, thank you, Sir. We travel with our own teas. Casualty of living with my uncle, I suppose."

"Who is your uncle, Lady Lan Chi? Perhaps I know him?"

She tried the soup. It was quite good – creamy, with a hint of green onion. "I am certain that, if you do not know him, you know _of _him. General Iroh."

The man nearly choked on his soup. "I – Iroh? Oh, my word – that is right. I had forgotten. Admiral Sun's sister married Prince Iroh."

She smiled kindly. "Yes."

"And your uncle – he is well?"

She lowered her eyes again, and nodded. "He is traveling with my – cousin, Zuko, at present." She looked at him again, and amazed that anyone's eyebrows could go that high.

"Prince Zuko?"

"Yes."

The man shook his head with a grim expression on his face. "That was a bad business – what happened to Prince Zuko. We heard about it just before we left."

"Thank you."

"Are you – close to your cousin?"

_Closer than anyone else_, she thought. "I – was."

"Should you get in contact with him, my lady, please tell him that he has – the _support_ of many."

She decided not to tell him that there was little chance of her ever seeing Zuko again. Instead, she smiled. "I shall, Captain. I shall."

* * *

The journey to the Western Air Temple was not an easy one. Although their tiny ship reached the island the temple occupied within two days of setting course, there was still a hike of at least two days to get to the temple proper – Zuko, Iroh, the doctor, and Jee on rhinos, and the other firebenders on foot. Unlike airbenders, of course, who could take to the skies and reach the temple in only a short time, the firebenders were forced to cut their way their way through the jungle and cross the rivers at a ford, and stop to rest and sleep and eat.

Once they reached the cliffs above the temple, they had to leave the rhinos and rappel down to the hanging terraces, which was no easy task for Iroh, out of shape for years, or for Zuko, because of the bandage, still blind in one eye.

It took several days to explore the temples thoroughly, and, although Zuko was not even sure that they had found all possible hiding spots, he was forced to declare their exploration of the temple at an end. They were running out of food, and although potable water was plenty, the men beneath his command seemed uncomfortable walking in the footsteps of ghosts. The party found nothing of interest, of course, but for bones of the inhabitants and soldiers, and long lost remnants of lost lives.

As their search wound down, Zuko stood on one of the terraces and looked out over the complex. It was beautiful here, with the chasm beneath them, the sound of running water from diverted rivers around them, and the abandoned serenity of the place, but he could appreciate none of that. The hardship of searching the temple had tempered his resolve and sharpened his purpose – he would find the avatar, no matter how long it took. No matter if it cost him his youth – he would find the last airbender. He would find him, spirits be his witnesses.

"What a stunning view." Iroh had somehow found a way to rappel down to this spot. Zuko gave an inward sigh. He wanted to be left alone. Seeing Uncle somehow brought home to him how much he had lost.

Zuko's face became a mask of hatred. "The only view I'm interested in seeing is the Avatar in chains."

Iroh's face saddened. "You know," he said gently, "the avatar hasn't been seen for a hundred years. The chances of finding him here are very slim."

Zuko ignored his uncle. "First we'll check each of the air temples." He stepped closer to the edge of the terrace. "Then we'll scour the world, searching even the most remote locations until we find him."

"Prince Zuko, it's only been a week since your banishment. You should take some time to heal, and rest."

Zuko's temper flared. He was sick of resting! He was sick of being coddled, like a baby, by his uncle. He was a man now, not a child! He had a mission. A mission from which _no one_ would distract him. Not Lan Chi. Not his father. Definitely not his pudgy, carefree uncle.

"What else would I expect to hear from the laziest man in the Fire Nation?" His words were designed to wound.

Iroh sighed, his expression mournful. This was not his nephew. This was a cold, hard _man_ he did not even recognize.

Zuko continued. "The only way to regain my honor is to find the avatar, so I will."

Iroh's lips compressed as he bit back his next words, and he turned away to walk towards the back of the terrace.

Zuko continued to stare out over the abyss, although he did not see it. "I want it back. Everything I lost." He closed his unbandaged eye. "_Everything_," he whispered. "If I have to, I will spend every day of the rest of my life hunting the Avatar. I know it's my destiny to capture him."

He felt his uncle's hand on his shoulder.

"You know," Iroh said, with a slight smile, "Prince Zuko, destiny is a funny thing. You never know how things are going to work out. But if you keep an open mind and an open heart, I promise you will find your own destiny someday."

"I know my destiny. My destiny is to bring the avatar to my father. My destiny is to restore my honor." He looked at the older man over his shoulder. "And nothing will change my mind."

* * *

Once back on his ship, Zuko gave orders to proceed to the Northern Air Temple. A journey of such a distance would take time, Jee explained – perhaps more than a month. Their course would take them, by necessity, through and into Earth Kingdom waters, an undertaking, by its very nature, fraught with danger. The Fire Nation was the enemy of the Earth Kingdom, and even a banished prince – especially, perhaps, a banished prince, was always in danger.

Zuko did not care, however. He would run a thousand Earth Kingdom blockades, if necessary. He would fight anything or anyone that stood in his way. If there was a chance, no matter how remote, that the avatar was at the Northern Air Temple, he would take it.

Even if that meant going through a howling gale.

They were caught in that gale as they rounded the northern tip of the Earth Kingdom. Although it was spring, it was not unknown for winter storms to still scream out of the North Pole. Luckily, for Zuko, he had his seasicknees under control; even the strongest seas were little matter to him now. He walked as a sailor did – confident and stalwart. Rolling decks and churning seas were of no concern.

However, gales, he soon found out, were special. They sucked the ship down into deep waves and sent it shooting up into the crests. Up was sometimes down, and down, up.

As he made his way through the narrow halls, his footing was constantly changing and adapting to the pitch of the waves. He put his foot down, but the ship dipped, and he found himself propelled forward, and he struck his left temple on a door jamb.

He howled with pain as his wound hit the hard metal, and he crumpled to the ground. He lifted his hand to the bandage, and thought he felt the warmth of blood below his ear.

Bleeding! He was bleeding!

He scrambled to his feet and lurched down the hall towards his uncle's room. In his state of panic, he did not think of the infirmary, but of reaching his uncle – the man who solved his problems. He threw open the door to find Iroh sitting at his writing table with sheaths of parchment before him.

"Prince Zuko, what –?" He stopped when he saw the blood on Zuko's face, and on his nephew's hands. He jumped to his feet and assisted Zuko to the bed. "What happened?"

"I – I fell." Zuko's voice was suddenly very small and childlike.

"Can you walk? The infirmary is not far. The doctor should have a look at that."

Zuko nodded slightly, and Iroh, an arm under Zuko's shoulder, helped him to the doctor's office.

The helmsman was already there with a bandage around his knee, having fallen, it seems, from the last few rungs of a ladder. The doctor, seeing Zuko's state, rushed forward and supported the young man on his other side, and he and Iroh guided him to a surgical table.

"What happened?"

"He fell." Iroh's face was grim.

"One moment." The doctor sent the helmsman off with some advice on resting, and turned to Zuko.

More concerned than he wanted to admit, the man began to unwrap the prince's head. At this stage, the wound opening would only delay the healing, and might worsen the resulting scar. He pulled the bloodied bandage away, and Iroh grimaced. There was a long crack in the scab right in front of Zuko's ear, and it was bleeding rather profusely.

"What? What is it?" Zuko was scared.

"Nothing of import, Prince Zuko." Iroh assured him.

"Let me see."

Iroh frowned. "There's no need. The doctor will clean you up and replace the bandage."

Since their departure, Zuko had not even seen a mirror. In fact, there were only three on the entire ship. One was in the crew bath, a room which Zuko had never visited, one, always hidden away, was in Iroh's chamber, and one belonged to the doctor. Zuko held his hand out for that one now.

"I want to see it. Don't hide it from me anymore, Uncle. I'm not a child."

"But you don't _need_ it, Zuko. You do well at cleaning your teeth without one, and the doctor is the one who shaves your head, when necessary. What use have you?"

Zuko's face reddened, and he pushed away the doctor's hand as the man attempted to clean the blood from his patient's face. "I want to see what I look like."

"Your highness, it is useless for you to see it now. It is not nearly healed." The doctor's voice was meant to be soothing.

"I don't care!" Zuko jumped off the table, pushed past the doctor, and started pulling out drawers indiscriminately, searching for the hand mirror.

"Zuko, please." Iroh put a hand on his arm.

Zuko shrugged it off. "Stop trying to placate me!" He slammed shut the drawer he had been searching. "I demand that you give me a mirror – now!"

Iroh and the doctor exchanged looks, and Iroh finally shrugged. The doctor sighed and pulled a small hand mirror from under the surgical table. He handed it to Zuko reluctantly.

The prince snatched it from his hand and held it up.

The person who stared back at him was not _Zuko_. It was not. It was an angry, pale boy with no hair, and a horrific, scabby face. The scab itself covered his entire left eye area and stretched back to his ear, with a bloody gash that oozed bright red blood.

He was a monster.

He was hideous.

He was repulsive.

Who could ever love him – now, looking like this? Surely not Lan Chi, who was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.

His grip on the mirror convulsed, and he turned and threw the mirror against the wall, where it shattered into countless pieces.

* * *

Author's Note: I realize now that the end has a bit of a "Beauty and the Beast" vibe - but it might be apt, since Zuko feels such insecurity about it.


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN _NICKELODEON'S AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER_ OR ITS CHARACTERS. I just shine Appa's armor - you know, it is hard to get soot off of armor...**

* * *

**Author's Pre-Chapter Note**: As this is listed as a "romance" as the genre, you may have already guessed that there will be some romance between Zuko and Lan Chi - later on, of course. They are only fourteenish now! Anyway, I have had some conflicting feelings on how "far" to go in my writing. In other words, should I keep it a "T" for teen story, or bump it up to a mature "M?" If there is a actual interest on behalf of the viewers on reading more "adult-type" stuff, I might go that way, as well. With this in mind, I have designed a poll on my profile posing that very question to you, to whom it might actually make a difference. Therefore, please visit and vote. Your vote counts!

* * *

There was an insistent knocking on Zuko's door. He opened one eye and looked at the window. It was not yet light. Not time to get up.

"Go away!" He turned away from the door and drew the sheet up to his neck.

The knocking resumed.

"What?" Zuko demanded ill-naturedly.

The door creaked open. "Prince Zuko?" Iroh's voice was tentative.

"It's not time to get up, Uncle. Go away."

The door suddenly burst open, and Iroh bustled in, holding a large plate. He shot a ball of flame at a torch on the wall. "Happy birthday, Nephew!"

Zuko groaned and pulled the covers over his head. "No!"

"You may say _no_, Zuko, but it is your birthday nonetheless!"

Zuko could hear the smile in his uncle's voice, and he hunched lower under the protective sheet. He could feel Iroh sit beside him on his bed. "I have the red-dyed eggs, the longevity peach, and the sweet noodles!"

"I don't care!"

"Come, Zuko! Don't you want a long life?"

He turned his face into his pillow. "I want to be left alone!" His voice was muffled.

There was no answer, and Zuko could picture his uncle's happy, expectant face – the smile wreathing his face, the eyes crinkled in good humor. Zuko gave a deep sigh and sat up, letting the sheet fall to his waist.

Iroh's smile became larger, if that was possible. He held out the platter, with a small bowl of noodles, two red-dyed eggs, and a peach bun.

Zuko took the platter without any enthusiasm. "Thank you, Uncle."

Iroh looked at him with great anticipation. "Well, go on. Eat the noodle."

The prince rolled his eyes, put the plate down on his lap, and picked up the chopsticks Iroh had brought him. He obediently brought the noodles up to his lips and slurped them in.

"Don't chew! You know that birthday noodles must be swallowed without biting to insure a long life."

Zuko nodded and swallowed the noodles in one big wad.

"Good boy, Zuko!" Iroh slapped him on his naked back, and it made a loud smacking sound. Zuko winced, wrinkling the skin around his scabbed wound. A month and a half after the agni kai and the bandage was off, the doctor returned to the Fire Nation capital, and Zuko on his way to healing. His eye was still almost sealed shut by the scab, but he had been able to ascertain that he had at least some sight left.

"Good?"

Zuko nodded again, his throat working. Finally, with a long gulp, the noodles passed. "Good." He croaked out.

"And the peach bun."

Zuko picked up the sweet. "I'm not eating the eggs."

"No. Fine."

Zuko popped the entire bun into his mouth, and Iroh nodded in approval. "Now, for your present."

Zuko shook his head. "No pwesen." He said around the food.

"What? No present? On your fourteenth birthday? No present for my only nephew? Unthinkable! Get up!" He himself stood, and indicated that Zuko should do the same.

Zuko groaned again, but did as his uncle requested, and followed the old man from the room.

"Uncle," he asked, "where are we going?"

"You'll see."

Iroh led him through the ship and down to the stable deck, where the rhinos were kept.

Zuko, in only sleep pants with no shoes, hesitated at the door. "Why are we at the stables?" He wrinkled his nose. "Did you get me a pile of rhino dung?"

Iroh laughed. "Of course not! Come."

Careful not to tread in anything that his uncle _didn't _get him, Zuko walked in Iroh's footsteps until they came to a stall at the very end of the stable row.

An ostrich-horse made a low clucking sound when it saw Iroh, and stuck its head over the gate. Iroh chuckled, and reached into his sleeve. He pulled out an apple, and offered it to the animal, who snatched it greedily.

"Is – is that – Xuan?" Zuko was puzzled.

Iroh ruffled the feathers on the animal's head affectionately. "The very same."

Zuko blushed, remembering the time that the horse had thrown him. It was the day that he had first seen Lan Chi again after her return from the Royal Fire Academy for Girls. Wanting to show off for her, he had foolishly insisted on riding the animal despite the fact that it was much too strong and big for him. Predictably, Xuan had thrown Zuko from its back, leaving him embarrassingly and literally in the dust in front of Lan Chi.

"I didn't know that you brought him on board, Uncle." Zuko reached out tentatively and touched the horse's flank.

"You rarely come to the stables."

"It smells."

"Well, rhinos and horses tend to do that."

"Hmm. He's so beautiful."

"And he's yours!" Iroh's voice was gleeful.

"What?" Zuko looked at Iroh, his one eye opening wide. "Uncle! I – I can't ride Xuan! He – _threw_ me when I tried to!"

Iroh put a hand on his nephew's arm. "Zuko, that was _months _ago. You've grown at least four inches since then. Perhaps more. You will be able to ride him."

"Do you mean it?"

"Of course I mean it. You are more than ready for a horse like Xuan." He nodded. "More than ready."

Zuko gave a small smile. "Thank you, Uncle. He is – an amazing animal."

"And you are an amazing young man."

* * *

On the day that Zuko turned fourteen, the ship carrying Lan Chi slid into its final port.

Lan Chi did not sleep well the night before, knowing both of those facts. In fact, as the moon arced through the sky, marking the passing of midnight, she arose and walked to the window, and looked up at the moon. Zuko was beneath that same moon, somewhere. A small, sad smile came to her face. "Happy birthday, my love. I miss you."

"Wha, my lady? Did you say something?" From her bed on the other side of the room, Hua lifted her head.

Lan turned to the housekeeper. "I'm sorry that I woke you, Hua. I – just couldn't sleep, I suppose."

"Worried about meeting your aunt?"

_Let her think that_, Lan thought. "Yes."

Hua settled back into her bed. "It will be fine, my lady. She'll love you."

"I'm certain she shall." Lan said skeptically. She walked back to her bed and flopped down on it disconsolately. She had planned so much for Zuko's birthday – before everything had happened. She had intended to ask Cook to teach her how to make peach buns, and she had been thinking to embroider a pillow with entwined dragons on it. Now, she could only celebrate his birthday by whispering felicitations into the wind.

She turned her face into the pillow, feeling a familiar tightness in her throat. She would not cry, no matter how she yearned to. She was done crying. She was done with it.

* * *

Lan Chi and Hua finally disembarked somewhere around midday. Lan took a fond leave of the captain, who had never failed to be courteous to her, and she and Hua watched as their trunks were brought out of the cargo hold.

The port of Lao Hai was bustling, with at least a dozen other ships being unloaded at the same time, and masses of people streaming in and out of the area. It looked to be a prosperous city that spread out beyond the docks, and rose on the hills around them. She could see what looked to be tidy, spacious houses dotting those same hills, and wondered if her new home was among them.

Lan knew that Lao Hai had been colonized by the Fire Nation about fifty years previously, and that, since the arrival of its conquerers, the region had grown in importance due to its deep, natural harbor. At this time, however, it was not Lao Hai's commerce that interested Lan Chi, but finding her way to her aunt's home.

"Do you think that Aunt Ming has sent a carriage? Did she know that we were arriving today?"

As if on cue, a man dressed in livery approached them. He bowed. "Lady Lan Chi Sun?"

Lan turned to Hua with an ironic smile. "I wonder how he identified me." She turned back to the man. "Yes, I am. And you are?"

"Cho, my lady." He bowed again. "I am in the employ of Fai and Lady Ming Yi Liang. I have come to escort you to your aunt and uncle's home."

"Thank you, Cho. This is my companion, Hua." She pointed to the pile of luggage, which had grown exponentially. "And these are my things. I would like them brought with us, if you please."

He nodded, and, with a small smile, called forth several men who began loading Lan Chi's things, with efficiency, onto a cart. "They will wait for anything else that may be unloaded." Cho clapped, and an elegant carriage rolled up. He opened the door, lowered the step, and helped both women into the interior, then jumped onto the driver's seat with the coachman, and the ostrich horse lurched forward.

Lan looked out the window as the carriage bumped over the cobblestones. They were traveling through what appeared to be a commercial section, with busy shops and restaurants, and many, many shoppers.

As the land began to rise into hills, the business district gave way to houses, at first shabby, then modest, then prosperous, and then opulent. It was at one of the more opulent that the carriage finally came to a stop.

The house was multi-level, built into the side of the hill, its front gardens neat and terraced.

Cho jumped down from his spot on the coachman's bench, and helped the women to alight.

"My lady," he bowed, "welcome home."

_Welcome home_. This was now her home. Would it ever feel like home? Home was with Iroh, and Zuko. Home was where there was love. Her love was floating on the sea somewhere, scarred and banished and on an impossible mission.

"Thank you," she said, unsmiling.

"Her ladyship, your aunt, is waiting for you." He climbed the steps to the front door in front of her.

"And Uncle Fai?"

"Away, I'm afraid. Fire Nation business." He opened the door and bowed as she passed him.

The interior was cool and dim, and smelled of sweet flowers. The furnishings were elegant and free of dust, and, unlike those in Iroh's house, unscratched by more than twenty years of use by children.

Cho escorted Lan and Hua into a lavishly appointed sitting room, rang a bell, and withdrew with a bow.

Moments later, a maid came into the room with a tea tray. She set three cups on the table before them, as well as a delicately etched teapot and and a matching platter, full of cookies, and was gone.

Lan and Hua looked at each other. Three cups presumably meant that they would be joined by someone soon.

They did not have to wait long.

A woman of middle years entered the room, as refined as Lan Chi would expect the owner and resident of this house to be. She was tall and slim, with a stately carriage and hair shot through with silver. She wore a rose-colored robe and the comb in her hair was enameled with a matching color.

Lan Chi, could see, in her face, shades of Su Hsing, and her throat tightened. Hua stood and bowed, and, belatedly, Lan Chi did the same.

The woman stopped before them, hands clasped before her. Lan straightened, and she and her aunt stared at each other for a long moment. Then, unexpectedly, a smile broke out on Ming Yi's face, and she opened her arms. "Lan Chi. It's been so long."

Lan slowly moved forward to accept the embrace. She felt her aunt's arms go around her. "We – we've met?" She asked from within the hug.

Ming Yi set her away, but kept her hands on Lan Chi's shoulders. "When you were very young."

"I don't remember."

"I would be astonished if you had. You were only about two."

Lan surveyed her. "You look a lot like my aunt – my other aunt, I mean. Su Hsing." She finished lamely.

"All the women in our family look alike."

"Except me."

She gave a gentle smile. "Except you." She confirmed.

That angered Lan Chi. "Do you doubt my paternity?"

Ming Yi was astonished. "No! Spirits, no." She squeezed Lan's shoulders then dropped her hands, and walked over to the family altar, crowded with portraits. Lan followed. There were pictures of Su Hsing, Lu Ten, and Lan's own father. Ming reached behind them and picked up a miniature portrait, obviously old, of a woman dressed in a style long since out of fashion. She handed it to Lan.

The woman who stared back did not have the almond-shaped eyes that characterized the Sun family, but rounder eyes, much like Lan's own. Her nose was retroussé, like Lan's, and Lan could see a small smattering of freckles on the woman's cheeks.

"My mother. Your grandmother. _She _was not a Sun, obviously. However, she gave you much of what you see in the mirror. Except your hair, of course." She touched Lan's braid. "That is all yours, my dear."

Lan gazed at her grandmother again, and then at Ming Yi, who smiled kindly back. Impulsively, she threw herself at Ming Yi, and wrapped her arms around her tightly. Ming Yi's arms, after a surprised moment, did the same.

"Thank you, Aunt Ming, for showing me that. I – I haven't – _belonged_ for such a long time."

"You belong now."

Lan pulled away, and, after a watery smile at her aunt, turned to Hua. "I'm sorry. I forgot to introduce you to Hua, my companion."

Ming released Lan and walked over to Hua, her arms open. "She needs no introduction." She took the housekeeper, who was smiling broadly, into an embrace. "We grew up together."

Lan slapped her forehead. "That's right! Hua told me!"

"You have not changed at all, my lady!"

Ming Yi laughed and released the housekeeper. "Now that's a whisker if ever I heard one, Hua!"

"Not at all."

She slipped her arm around the other woman's shoulders and they walked to the sofa. "You're too kind. So, tell me, how do you like living in the capital?"

They sat, and Hua shrugged. "I liked it much better when I had the family around, to be frank, my lady."

Ming Yi's eyes became suspiciously wet. "It is terrible to be the last one left, Hua."

Hua gave a sober nod. "Yes. Yes, it is."

Ming Yi gave a deep sigh, squeezed Hua's hand, and gestured for Lan to join them at the tea table. "Let's not dwell on what cannot be changed. This is a joyous occasion, after all! A grand reunion!" She poured out the tea and handed Lan, and then Hua, a cup. "So, tell me everything."

Lan _did not_ want to tell her aunt everything. To relay a tragic love story in her first meeting with her aunt might overwhelm the poor woman, so she decided to stay quiet on that topic.

She had not, however, considered what Iroh had told Ming Yi in his letter.

After the tea had been consumed, and the service removed, Ming settled back into the sofa. "So, Lan Chi, your uncle has told me a bit about why you are here. Do you want to tell me the rest?"

Lan blushed, and looked down at her hands folded in her lap.

Hua put a hand on Lan Chi's forearm. "Ming Yi was always a bit _blunter_ than Su Hsing."

"Than everyone, Hua. You would think being married to a politician would have tempered me, but it has, seemingly, not done so." She smiled at Lan. "You needn't tell me, if you don't want. I just thought that I should offer you the opportunity. Sometimes talking is the best medicine."

Lan shrugged and looked at her aunt. "I suppose. I can't avoid telling you forever."

Ming's eyebrows lifted. "You can, of course. Provided there is no gossip that reaches my ears first."

Lan shook her head. "There won't be. It was all very _quiet_."

"Something to do with Prince Zuko, I understand."

Lan sighed. "Yes. It had _everything _to do with Prince Zuko. We – we were to be married."

One of Ming's brows lifted. "At thirteen?"

"No. It was an _arrangement_. A secret arrangement."

"Secret? From Iroh?"

She shook her head. "No. Uncle agreed – after a while. No. It was secret from –" she trailed off, uncertain whether she should say anything.

"The Fire Lord?"

"Yes. How did you know?"

"Intuition."

"Oh."

"Was that why Prince Zuko was banished?"

Lan was shocked. "What? No. Of course not." Even as she said it, doubt began to set in.

Ming looked at Lan for a long moment, then smiled. "Of course not. Well, let's not talk about that. You must both be tired. Why don't I show you to your rooms?"

* * *

Zuko removed his helmet and turned back to look up at the Northern Air Temple. It reached into the sky at the top of its mountain, its highest spire disappearing into the clouds. The course to the top was a narrow path that wound around the entire mountain, and, at this time of year, in late spring, it was still covered with snow and dotted with the footsteps of his men and the hoof prints of their mounts.

He absently rubbed his scar. Three months after the agni kai, the scab was gone, leaving in its place a flame-shaped scar that stretched over his left eye and ear, and which robbed the boy of his left eyebrow, the eyelashes of that eye, and much of the hair above his ear. Luckily, however, his vision in that eye was mostly unaffected, for which Zuko had been quite grateful.

When he had first realized the extent of his scarring, he had fallen into a deep depression, but, ever his mother's son, he had not dwelt on it. Instead, his depression had hardened into resolve to find the avatar, and to return home in triumph.

He turned to Iroh and his men, many mounted on rhinos. "Let's make haste to the ship. I want to leave here as soon as possible."

"Prince Zuko, the chances of finding the avatar here –"

Zuko turned on his uncle with a red face. "I know! I know! There was almost _no _possibility of finding him here! Well, I don't care! I had to take it! If there was a chance, any chance at all, I had to take it!" He looked up at the temple. "And I must continue looking." His voice was a whisper.

He had been very hopeful, almost giddy, when he and his men had seen gliders darting in the skies around the Northern Air Temple.

"Looks like the sages were wrong," he had told Iroh confidently. "The avatar is _not _the last airbender." He had addressed his soldiers with the same certainty. "Men! It appears that we have found the avatar." His smile had been malicious. "And his hiding place."

Zuko felt a thrill every time he contemplated the implications of finding the avatar. Sozin, Azulon, and Ozai had chased the avatar – for years, and were unsuccessful. Were he able to discover the avatar, it would mean that he had done what three generations of his family had been unable to accomplish. His father would be certain to restore his honor then, his place on the throne would be assured, and his father would not be able to deny him the spoil that he most wanted – Lan Chi.

Zuko saw, in his mind, arriving at Lan Chi's new home and sweeping in and taking her in his arms and kissing her as he had dreamed, for months, of kissing her. _She won't want you_, a treacherous voice in his head purred. _You're a monster – scarred, disgusting_. _Why would she want __**you**_? _She probably wouldn't even __**recognize **__you_.

Even as the voice died away, he recognized the truth in his own perfidious thoughts. Why _would_ Lan Chi want him? She was rich, and beautiful, and well-connected through her own father and through Uncle – why would she want him – Zuko? She could have anyone in the Fire Nation. Anyone. She could have someone with an entire face, not a mangled half-man.

He put those thoughts away from him, as he always had. He was jumping ahead of himself. He would never get his father's approval, or be crowned Fire Lord, or even get a _chance_ to claim Lan unless he found the avatar. So that's what he would do.

However, upon reaching the temple proper, they had discovered only a group of refugees who had colonized the temple and had learned to use the glider technology for themselves. An old man, apparently their leader, had pleaded for mercy, and, although Zuko had been tempted to turn them out of the temple, his more humane side, and Iroh's temperance, had, in the end, convinced him to leave the people in peace.

Back on board, as they settled the rhinos and Xuan, which Zuko had begun riding almost exclusively, Zuko was in a foul, foul mood. He yelled at all the crew members unlucky enough to cross his path, and threw all his armor against the wall of his chamber in a fit of pique.

"You know, we have no way of getting the armor repaired if you destroy it again, Prince Zuko." Iroh stood at the door of his nephew's room, his hands folded into his sleeves.

"_I don't care_!" He yelled, and, for good measure, kicked the helmet. It bounced off the wall where his dao swords hung, and they clattered to the floor, knocking over the table beneath them. "I'm never going to find the avatar, Uncle! Never!" He kicked at the table. "_Why_ did he ask me to do this? Why? Was it just to get rid of me?"

Iroh knew that the answer was in his nephew's question. "Of course not, Prince Zuko. Your father believes the avatar is the only thing that stands between the Fire Nation and victory."

"And what about Ba Sing Se? Is he _ignoring_ that? Isn't that _massive_ city sitting between us and victory?"

"Well, yes, I suppose –"

"And _you_ – the Dragon of the West, couldn't break through to the city! And Ba Sing Se still opposes us! So, tell me, Uncle, why my father has decided that the search for the avatar is _suddenly_ of utmost importance – more important than Ba Sing Se?"

"Zuko, we cannot know the Fire Lord's mind."

Zuko stared at the wall, his hands fisted at his side. "No. We cannot." He was silent for a long moment, and, when he spoke, his voice was soft. "Uncle, I _need _to find the avatar. Everything – _everything_ – depends upon it."

"I know, Zuko. I know."

Zuko, calm now, righted the table that he had knocked over, and picked up his swords. "I'll find him, Uncle. I _will_. I have to."

"I know that you will, Zuko. I know."

* * *

**Author's Note**: Well, FINALLY someone in Avatar has a birthday! It's not the happiest occasion, but, as you know, Zuko's never happy anyway.

By the way, I will probably update once a week - I know that's much slower than part one, but there is NO WAY I can compete with myself on that front. Updating four times a week was INSANE for me!


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN _NICKELODEON'S AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER_ OR ITS CHARACTERS. I just muck out the komodo rhino stalls on Zuko's ship.**

* * *

**Author's Pre-Chapter Notes: **Please, if you have not voted in my smut/no smut poll, please do so...

* * *

Lan Chi's first weeks in her new home were uneventful. She met her uncle Fai for the first time about a week after she arrived. As a provincial adjudicator, he spent much of his time traveling throughout the Fire Nation colonies settling disputes unable to be resolved by lower court judges, and ruling on matters of Fire Nation law.

He was a tall, thin man with a thin mustache and thinning hair, who Lan Chi found to be much, much too serious. However, he was kind and patient, and welcomed her into his home.

Aunt Ming, who, Lan had quickly learned, ruled her home with an iron fist, did not allow Lan to become lazy during her first days in Lao Hai. She quickly engaged a dancing master for Lan, as well as a liuqin teacher, to help re-acquaint Lan Chi with the stringed instrument that she had abandoned years before. Ming Yi also arranged for Lan to learn to cook at the elbow of Ming's own chef.

Lan welcomed the distractions, since they did not allow her to brood as she had during the voyage to Lao Hai. At the dance lessons she excelled, but she found that the her skill with the liuqin was non-existent, and that her abilities in the kitchen were severely limited.

Ming Yi had comforted Lan that the wall of Ba Sing Se was not built in a day, and that she should not be discouraged, although Lan did not relish all of the remedial work that she would have to suffer through to be successful at the latter two skills.

Ming Yi also thought, once she discovered that Lan was interested in embroidery, that it would be logical to continue Lan's education in that, and, since Ming Yi herself was quite skilled in embroidery, she decided to teach Lan herself.

Lan was actually rather excited about the prospect of learning more embroidery. It was something that she enjoyed, and at which she showed some talent.

Hua, who had decided to stay an entire month in Lao Hai in order to make certain that Lan Chi was fully settled, was also pleased that Lan would continue doing embroidery, since it had been Hua who had taught Lan how to embroider in the first place.

However, although there was little to cause Lan Chi distress in her new home, at the end of her first month in Lao Hai, Hua began packing to return to the Fire Nation, which caused Lan to become melancholy.

She sat on the older woman's bed, idly watching as Hua folded some undergarments and placed them in an open trunk.

"Do you really have to leave so _soon_?"

"Soon? It's been over two months since we left the capital."

Lan sighed, and let her head fall back onto Hua's pillow. "But I don't want you to go."

Hua smiled and sat down next to her, patting her leg. "I know. But you'll be fine. You're always fine."

"Oh, yes." Lan scoffed. "Don't _worry_ about Lan. She's always _fine_. Don't worry about abandoning her and going to Ba Sing Se. She'll be _fine_. Don't worry about her being exiled to the Royal Fire Academy for Girls. She'll be _fine_. Don't worry about sailing away without her and leaving her on the dock. She'll be _fine_!" She jumped up and ran from the room.

She dashed down the stairs, past her aunt and uncle sitting in the dining room, and out the front door, which she slammed behind her. She continued down the garden stairs, out the gate, and down the street to a small park. From the edge of the park she could see the entire city laid out before her, but she stared at it without seeing it.

Damn her uncle! Damn Zuko! Damn Ozai! Damn them all! Damn them for ruining her life! Damn them for condemning her to some _stupid_ town in the middle of nowhere with people she barely knew!

She blinked away the nascent tears that came to her eyes. She would not cry! She would not give them that power over her! They might have the power to push her around the world, but they would not _break _her spirit. She was _done_ mourning. Mourning Zuko. Mourning the life that they were to have together. Mourning her life with Iroh. Mourning all the things that were not to be.

No one would ever make her cry again. _No one_.

* * *

Zuko stood on the deck of the bridge, his hands gripping the rail tightly. They were approaching a harbor town just east of the Northern Air Temple. A town that was _not_ under Fire Nation control. A town that had no allegiance to the Fire Lord, and which had, in fact, every reason to hate the Fire Nation, and anyone associated with it.

They were running low on supplies, however. They had been at sea for more than two months, only stopping at the Western and the Northern Air Temples. Their food was almost depleted, as was the potable water, and the coal they needed to feed the ship's furnaces was very low. The only thing they had in plentiful supply was the hay to feed the rhinos and the ostrich horse. And spirits knew that the men could not eat it.

So here they were, putting into a hostile port. Lieutenant Jee came up to Zuko. "We will be arriving in less than a half hour, your highness. Have we your permission to dock?"

Zuko did not look at him. "Yes, Lieutenant. Bring the ship in, please."

"Aye, your highness." He bowed, and was gone.

"Are you worried, Prince Zuko?" Iroh had come up on silent feet.

Zuko gave him a brief look. "Of course I'm worried, Uncle. This town is still controlled by the Earth Kingdom. I have no idea what our reception is going to be. They might welcome us –"

"Our money, you mean."

"Yes. Our money. Or they might try to throw us in prison."

"The Fire Lord's son would be a mighty prize."

Zuko sighed. "Yes."

"We will endeavor not to expose you, Prince Zuko."

Zuko's look was fulminating. "You could begin by _not _calling me _Prince_ Zuko. _Zuko_ will suffice while we are in port."

Iroh gave him a sheepish look. "Of course, Pr – er, um, _Zuko_."

Zuko nodded sharply. "Let's talk to the men." He turned and walked towards the bridge, and Iroh followed him.

The bridge was abuzz with activity. The helmsman, the engineer, and, for some reason, the cook, were all there, as well as Jee and several other sailors.

"Lieutenant Jee!" Zuko tried to make his voice sound authoritative. "Why are all these men on the bridge?"

Jee, who had been poring over a map, jumped to his feet and stood at attention. "Highness. They are – excited to be going ashore."

Zuko's eyes moved along his crew without turning his head. "Excited to be going ashore? We are in _enemy_ territory. This is not a Fire Nation port. This is an Earth Kingdom port. This is not a _resort_. They _hate_ us here. Do you understand that? Do you understand what would happen to us if our mission were revealed – if it became common knowledge that I am on this ship – that my uncle is on this ship?" he indicated Iroh. "We could _all_ be in great danger."

"Your highness, we would never betray you or General Iroh."

"You may not _intentionally _betray us, but, as drunk as some of you get –"

Iroh stepped in. "What my nephew means is that we must _all_," he shot a look at Zuko, "be cautious while we are ashore."

Jee's face was red. "We shall, your highness."

"Don't call us _your highness _while we are in town! Act as though we are just like the other crew members." Zuko lectured.

"Yes." Jee's face was impassive. "We will – Zuko."

The prince's face turned red, but he could say nothing – after all, he had told Jee to treat him like the others. He gave a brief nod, turned abruptly on his heel, and left the bridge.

* * *

Hua's departure was wrenching for Lan Chi, and she insisted upon accompanying the older woman to the ship. On the way, in Ming Yi's lavishly appointed carriage, she held Hua's hand tightly.

"I just don't want you to go, Hua."

"I know, my lady." Hua squeezed Lan Chi's hand. "But I have to get back."

"Why? All that's there is Uncle's house."

"And Jianyu." Hua bloomed red, and Lan's chin dropped.

"Hua? Did you just – blush?"

"What? Of – of course not!" She was flustered.

Lan put both her hands over her mouth. "Hua," she said through her fingers, "do you _like _Jianyu?"

Hua sputtered. "Don't – don't be silly, my lady! We're – we're much too _old_ to indulge in _things_ like that!" She looked at Lan hopefully. "Aren't we?"

Lan squealed and impetuously gave Hua a hug. "No! No! You are not too old! You're perfect! Just perfect!"

Hua looked shy. "Do you truly think that – that we have a chance?"

Lan nodded, her face wreathed in a smile. "Oh, yes, Hua! Of course you do!" She put her hands on her head. "How did I not know this?" She pictured, in her mind, all the times she had seen Hua and Jianyu together. They had never seemed _intimate_. Although she knew that they were the only people living in the house during most of the time that she, Lan, had been at the Royal Fire Academy for Girls, she had never suspected that they were _involved_ with one another.

"We have always been very _discreet_. We are, after all, your Uncle's representatives in the palace."

"Oh, wow! Does Uncle _know_?"

Hua nodded. "Yes. Yes, he does."

"And he never told me!" She was outraged. How could everyone keep this from her?

"Well, you know, my lady, we wanted to keep our – relationship quiet. It would not do to have gossip floating about."

Lan considered that. "I suppose so. But _I_ wouldn't have said anything!"

Hua patted her hand. "I know that you wouldn't have, my lady."

Lan looked out the window. "How exciting, Hua! A _secret_ love affair – under my nose, all these years!" She turned back to the housekeeper. "And how romantic – you and Jianyu, separated for months, and now, you're going to be together – again..." She trailed off, her thoughts suddenly on her own situation. She and Zuko had been separated for months, just like Hua and Jianyu. However, _unlike_ Hua and Jianyu, she and Zuko were not going to be reunited anytime soon.

She shook her head to clear it. She was not going to ruin her last moments with Hua by sulking over Zuko. She turned to the older woman and smiled. "I am so happy for you. For both of you." She grasped the housekeeper's hands. "Are you going to get married?"

"Married?" Hua pulled her hands away and they covered her cheeks. "I – I don't know!"

"Has he asked you?"

"N – no."

Lan smiled confidently. "I'm sure he will."

Hua looked at her uncertainly, and Lan suddenly saw her as she must have looked as a young woman. "I'm sure of it, Hua. Absolutely sure."

* * *

Zuko, followed by Iroh, disembarked from the ship, vigilant to any threats around them. Most of the other men had already gone ashore, and were presumably scattered throughout the marketplace that surrounded the pier.

Zuko wasn't really sure what he was going to do while on dry land. Enjoy the feel of solid ground beneath his feet, surely, but otherwise – otherwise, all he wanted to do was ask about the avatar. But how to do that? He couldn't just walk into the nearest shop and demand to know if anyone had seen the avatar.

Could he?

Iroh began browsing at the stalls along the front of the market, and Zuko hung back, not certain that he wanted to go off on his own, but certainly not interested in shopping.

"Ooh, Zuko, look at this!" His uncle picked up a small fan. He opened it and waved it through the air experimentally.

"Uncle," Zuko gave an impatient sigh. "Why do you want a _fan_?"

"It gets hot in the afternoons."

Zuko rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say."

Iroh put the fan down and picked up a small bronze monkey with a smile on its face. Iroh grinned back at it and showed it to Zuko.

"Very nice," Zuko murmured without enthusiasm.

"Oh, look at this, Zuko."

Zuko looked at the item, disinterested. It was a woman's hair comb, enameled with jade. "Whyever would you want a _hair comb_, of all things, Uncle?"

"For Lan Chi's birthday, of course." He gestured the peddler over. "How much?"

All color drained from Zuko's face, and he did some mental math. Her birthday was exactly nine weeks after his, and his birthday was a little over a month ago, so – so her birthday was in about a month.

Iroh and the seller agreed on a price, and the comb was wrapped up. Iroh turned to Zuko and smiled. "I'm certain that she will like it. Don't you agree?"

"Sure." Zuko mumbled, looking at his feet.

"It will complement her hair so beautifully, won't it?" Iroh gave his nephew a pointed look.

Zuko nodded mutely, thinking of Lan's hair, soft and silky, and how it felt between his fingers. He pictured himself sliding the comb out of her hair, and watching the waves of red fall around her face.

"Why don't you look over there?" Iroh pointed at another stand displaying mirrors and other fripperies. "You should be able to find something for her over there. And don't worry about getting it to her! I will be able to send it the next time we get to a communication tower."

Zuko stood still, his eyes unfocused, and shook his head. "I – I don't think so, Uncle."

Iroh frowned. "Why not? Have you something picked out for her already?"

He shook his head again. "No. I – I just don't think that I should – give her anything."

"Is this because she sent you nothing? You know that there is no way for us to _get_ mail on the ship, Zuko."

Zuko's face darkened, and he rubbed his head. "No. No. Of course not. I'm not so petty, Uncle. It's just that –" he sighed. "I think that a – a clean break is best." When he said it, he realized that, whether he wanted it or not, that was what was best for Lan. He was doomed to chase the avatar for spirits only knew how long, and she should not be doomed along with him. She should go ahead and make her own life. If he found the avatar soon, then he could return for her. If not – if it took ten years, or twenty – well, he would not condemn her to a life of _waiting_. She deserved to be happy. Even if that meant that she might find someone else – that she might be happy _without_ him.

"Oh." Iroh was surprised, but he did not press his nephew. He could tell, by the misery etched in every line of Zuko's face, that such a decision was not lightly made.

He looked around desperately, trying to distract the prince. "There is a tea shop! Let's go there. I'm nearly out of jasmine!"

Zuko frowned. "Uncle! I am not going to a _tea shop_! I need to ask about the avatar!"

"Why can't you ask at the tea shop?"

_Why indeed_? Zuko shrugged. He supposed it was as good a place to start as anywhere. "Fine." He followed the older man into the shop. A bell on the door chimed, and a man behind a counter looked up, a pleasant smile on his face. When he saw the Fire Nation uniforms, however, his eyes narrowed, and his smile disappeared. He folded his arms across his chest.

Iroh walked up to the counter, a smile covering his face, seemingly unaware of the hostility that now thrummed in the room. Zuko's eyes slid to two men sitting at a table in the corner. Their faces were stony. He flexed his fingers to ready them in case he needed to defend himself.

"What a wonderful aroma! Is that – bergamot – and?" He sniffed the air. "Vanilla?"

The man's eyebrows rose. "You know your teas."

"It is my one passion."

The two men who had been seated in the corner rose up in unison and came up behind them. Zuko turned to face them, his eyes slits and his hands fisted at his side.

Although he had grown since leaving home and was now as tall as Iroh, he was not yet _tall_. The men, sturdy, tall Earth Kingdom stock, towered over the prince.

"You're not welcome here, _firebender_." One of the men snarled. He stepped closer to Zuko and looked down at him. Zuko did not back down, but glared up into the man's face.

Iroh stepped between them quickly, urging Zuko back. "We mean no harm. We are merely sailors who have been at sea for over two months and need to buy supplies."

"You're not _merely _sailors." One of the men said, and Zuko, certain that their identities had been discovered, was ready to attack. "You're _Fire Nation sailors_."

"And we mean you no harm." Iroh repeated. He pulled out a small sack and opened it to reveal several coins. "Here." He turned to the proprietor and placed a gold piece on the counter. "A pot of your best tea, my good sir."

The man's eyes lit up. Gold coins were scarce these days. He looked at the two men, a warning in his eyes. "Go sit down. This _generous _man is buying you a pot of tea."

The men shot daggers at the firebenders with their eyes, but returned to their table, although they grumbled a bit. Iroh smiled at Zuko. "Why don't we share the pot with them, nephew?"

Zuko's eyes darted to the men. "I – I don't know if we should, Uncle."

"Nonsense." He clapped Zuko on the shoulder. He turned back to the shop owner, and put another coin on the counter. "Have you anything to add to the tea?"

The man reached out and took the money before answering. "I think so."

Iroh and Zuko walked to the table and sat down. Iroh smiled affably at the two men, while Zuko was suspicious.

"You have quite a fine town here." Iroh was at his most charming.

"It's because the Fire Nation doesn't come this far north – much." The entire sentence was a growl.

"Does it get very cold here in winter?"

The two men looked at each other. "Yeah, I guess. You don't notice it after a while."

The proprietor brought over a pot of tea and four cups, as well as a dark green bottle, all of which he set on the table. "Enjoy."

The Earth Kingdom men's eyes lit up at the sight of the bottle.

Iroh smiled wisely, and poured four cups of tea, although he left all but Zuko's half empty. He then topped the other three with the liquid in the bottle. The two Earth Kingdom men grabbed their cup and drank the contents down greedily. Iroh sipped at his, and his eyes slid to Zuko. "Zuko, didn't you have a question to ask the shop owner – about tea?"

Zuko gave him a confused look, then, as realization dawned, he nodded. "Yes, Uncle. I wanted to ask about that – special blend that you mentioned."

"Good boy."

Zuko stood and, with a nod to his tablemates, he walked to the counter. The owner was mixing tea into small sacks. He looked at Zuko once, and then his eyes went back to his task.

Zuko cleared his throat, and, when the shop owner looked at him again, he tried to speak, although the first sound that came out was merely a squeak.

The man stopped what he was doing. "What is it, boy? Can't you see that I'm busy?"

Zuko bristled. He was not a _boy_! "Do you get – a lot of strangers around here?"

Giving Zuko a pointed look, he answered. "Some."

"Water Tribe?"

"Yeah. The North Pole's not far. We get them here – selling fish, and all."

Zuko nodded. "And the Northern Air Temple's not far, either. Get anyone from there?"

"What? Those refugees? Sometimes. They buy supplies, couple of times a year."

Zuko nodded, trying to seem interested. "But what about the people – who _used_ to live at the Temple?"

The man began tying the completed sacks of tea. "What people?"

"You know. Air Nomads."

The man gave a loud bark of laughter. "Don't you know your own country's history, boy? Air Nomads were exterminated by the Fire Nation a hundred years ago. There aren't any of them left."

"What about the avatar? Isn't he an Air Nomad?"

The man scoffed. "The avatar? He's as dead as the rest of the airbenders."

"Well, then, wouldn't he be reincarnated into the Water Tribes?"

The man shrugged, and began throwing the small sacks into a box. "Probably didn't. From what I hear, the avatar was only twelve or so when he died – not a fully-realized avatar. So the cycle didn't continue." He shrugged again. "That's what I hear, anyway."

Zuko was silent. Of course, he had heard that theory before – but he did not believe it. He _could not_ believe it.

He thanked the man, and went back to his uncle. "I'm going to go look around, Uncle. I'll see you back at the ship."

Iroh looked at him, his face suffused with red. He waved a hand breezily at his nephew. "Have a good time, Prince Zuko."

Zuko's eyes widened, and his pupils constricted in fear. Iroh's jaw dropped in shock at his own foolishness. The two men sitting with Iroh gaped at Zuko, then at Iroh, and then at each other. Then, they sprang into action, jumping up, overturning the table.

However, although they were fast, Iroh was faster, despite his age and the amount of alcohol he had consumed. His years in the army and superior training gave him an edge, and, with alarming speed, he, too, jumped up, grabbed the heads of the two men across the table, and banged them together with a sickening thud. They crumpled to the floor.

Iroh and Zuko turned in unison and looked at the proprietor, who was frozen in place behind the counter. Zuko, who had not even known that he had been tensing his body, uncoiled and shot forward across the shop. He jumped and slid across the counter, landing in front of the tea peddler. The man looked on Zuko with real fear in his eyes, and turned to flee.

Unfortunately, for him, the door behind him was closed, and he ran full bore into it. He staggered back, and fell backwards – directly into Zuko, who, luckily, put his arms out to catch the man. The prince lowered the man to the ground.

"He's unconscious."

Iroh was all business. "Good. Let's get them all tied up; we'll put them in the back room."

Zuko looked down at the senseless man at his feet, and then at his uncle, who was dragging one of the men towards the counter.

"Uncle! Have you lost your mind? First, you called me _Prince Zuko_, even though I warned you not to!"

"I know! I know!"

"And then you knocked two men out!"

"Yes, Prince Zuko. I know." Iroh sighed as he tossed the man along the floor to Zuko, who caught him awkwardly.

"And now you want to tie them all up and leave them here?"

Iroh's hair, which had started to come out of his top knot after the exertion of moving the comatose man, looked like a gray halo around his head. "What would you like to do? Sit here with them until they awaken and then _apologize _to them?" He dragged the second man by the arm behind the counter.

"Open that door." He ordered Zuko with a nod of his head, and, Zuko, with an exasperated sigh, did as his uncle commanded, and watched as the older man pulled one of the men into what looked like a storeroom.

"What if someone comes by and sees us?" Zuko peered cautiously out of the windows.

Iroh returned from the storeroom. "Lock the door and put the _closed_ sign up."

He did that, and came back to help his uncle move the other two men into the storeroom. They found some rope and quickly tied the men up, although they were careful not to make the bindings too tight. They didn't want the poor men to stay trussed up indefinitely, after all.

Once their captives were secure, they righted the tables and chairs, and Iroh fished several more coins out of his sack. At Zuko's querying look, he grinned sheepishly. "No need to make enemies unnecessarily." He tossed them onto the counter, and, retrieving from the floor the corked bottle of liquor that he had paid for earlier, he indicated that they should leave. "No need to waste good liquor, either. Oh!" He held up a finger, and grabbed two bags of tea off the counter. "Don't want to leave without what I came for!"

They tried to look nonchalant as they left the tea shop, and sauntered casually down the street back to the ship. Along the way, they met up with Jee. "Lieutenant Jee," Iroh smiled in embarrassment. "There's been a bit of a – dust up, I'm afraid."

"A dust up?"

Zuko rolled his eyes. "No time for explanations! Just get everyone back on board as soon as possible. We need to leave _now_!"

"Yes, Zuko."

Zuko's mouth pulled down. "You may call me _Prince_ Zuko." He shot his uncle a dark look. "My uncle has let the puma-cat out of the bag on that one."

* * *

**Author's Note: ** Iroh becomes dangerous when he drinks spiked tea! Especially to Zuko!

I hope you enjoyed their madcap adventure. More to come, surely!


	5. Chapter 5

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN _NICKELODEON'S AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER_ OR ITS CHARACTERS. I just harvest pakui berries, known to cure the poison of the white jade plant.**

* * *

Zuko stood on the deck, his body partially turned to Lieutenant Jee. Both of them were naked to the waist and breathing heavily. The younger man raised his hands, and a blast of fire shot out. Jee sidestepped the flames easily, and, ducking down, tried to sweep Zuko's legs out. Zuko sprang backwards, but Jee kept advancing. Zuko dodged him, once, twice, and, the third time, he reached forward and grabbed Jee's vulnerable wrist, effectively ending the spar.

He smiled, although it only lifted one side of his mouth, and released Jee. The other man bowed to him soberly.

"Good, Prince Zuko, good. You showed power, but also restraint."

Zuko nodded, and walked over to Iroh. "Thank you, Uncle."

"But I also sensed that you were – unsettled."

Zuko toweled the sweat from his body and sat next to his uncle, seated at a low table, writing equipment spread around him. "Of course I'm unsettled. I _want_ the avatar. I won't be _settled_ until he is in the brig and we are back in the Fire Nation."

Iroh shook his head. This was becoming an argument that occurred all too frequently. "Perhaps you should –"

"I'm not talking about it right now, Uncle. You said that I was good. I will take that and build on it."

Iroh looked at him for a long while, concern etching his face. Zuko, tension and unhappiness written in every line of his body, had changed so much – that wonderful, kind boy was gone and replaced with a bitter, angry young man.

And he was a young man now – there was no mistake. His face and body had lengthened, and there was a growth of hair above his lip.

He was, also, an unhappy young man, and Iroh did not how much that he, Iroh, could help him with that. He did not know how _involved_ he should get with it. The thing that would make Zuko the happiest, of course, Iroh could help him with not at all. He could help to _distract_ him from his quest by encouraging Zuko's relationship with Lan Chi, but that, too, was fraught with problems, from Ozai's opposition to it to the fact that there was little chance of ever seeing her or indeed hearing from her. And, of course, there was also Zuko's own reluctance. It was obvious to Iroh that Zuko was still in love with his niece, but the young man had apparently decided that it was unfair to saddle Lan Chi with his burdens.

"We'll be at the nearest communication hub tomorrow, Zuko, so I'm finishing up the birthday package for Lan Chi. Would you like to include a note for her?"

Zuko looked at him sharply, then turned away. "No."

"Are you certain, Prince Zuko?"

"Yes, I'm certain!" It was a yell, and the other men on deck turned to look at the Prince, but Zuko did not care.

Iroh was long in answering. "Perhaps just a bit at the bottom of my letter. A post script." Zuko was silent, and Iroh continued. "Perhaps – _Zuko sends his love_."

He shook his head. "No."

"But –"

"I said _no_!" Another yell.

Iroh tried to remain unperturbed. "Well, what _would_ you like to say?"

"Nothing."

"Zuko, you cannot say _nothing_. She will think you callous, or that you care not at all."

"So?"

"So, I understand that you want a clean break, but you don't need to break her _heart_."

Zuko looked out over the sea for a long time, then, when he finally spoke, his voice was so low that Iroh barely heard him. "Tell her –" he hesitated, "tell her –" he fumbled to find appropriate words, "that I send my – best wishes." He stood up abruptly, and walked off.

* * *

"Wakey, wakey!"

Lan Chi opened one bleary eye, only to close it again when the drapes of her room were ripped open to allow bright sunlight to flood in. "Oh! Aunt Ming! Close the drapes!" She put her hands in front of her face. "Please!"

Ming sat down on the edge of her bed. "What kind of a Fire Nation child are you if you sleep so late every day? Even on your birthday?"

She turned over, away from the window. "A mixed one."

Ming slapped her on the thigh, and Lan jumped. "Don't you want to get up and start the day?"

"No. I want to go back to sleep."

"Your father used to rise before the sun every day."

She finally turned over to look at her aunt. "So does Uncle. And Zuko."

"I won't ask how you know when _Zuko_ rises."

Lan blushed. "He must have told me."

Ming Yi gave her a knowing look. "Mm-hmm."

Lan sat up, eager to change the subject. How did she know that Zuko woke early? She certainly had never _slept_ with him. Well, except the night of Azulon's funeral. But he had been asleep when Ozai had dragged her away. How did she know, then? "So, it's my birthday. Happy birthday to me." She threw the sheets back. "Guess I'll get up."

Ming stayed where she was while Lan scrambled past her. "So, what do you want for your birthday?" The older woman asked.

Lan stretched. "You mean you didn't get me anything?"

Ming smiled. "Of course we did. But I didn't ask you what you wanted. And now I am."

Lan shrugged. "What do you get a girl who has everything?"

"Do you have everything?"

Lan grabbed a brush from the vanity and began running it through her hair. "Everything that money can buy."

Ming gave a small smile. "Money can't buy everything."

Lan's brows raised. "Don't _I_ know!"

"So, what do you want?"

Lan did not even have to think. "I want to start martial arts training again. I want to spar. I want to do archery. I want to get back into knife defense – and stick defense."

Ming blinked. "Expecting trouble, are you?"

She smiled. "I'm Fire Nation. We always expect trouble."

Her aunt gave a little laugh. "I don't know why I thought that you might like a nice picture frame or a necklace or something."

"I have those." Lan shrugged.

Ming nodded. "All right, then. You want to fight? You can fight."

Lan smiled. "Thank you, Aunt Ming."

Ming stood. "Well, once you're dressed, come downstairs. I have a delicious bowl of noodles for you, as well as a peach bun and red eggs."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world."

* * *

Lan dressed in her sparring clothes and grabbed her bow and arrows. She was intending to take her aunt at her word, and begin her martial arts training today. There was a bounce in her step when she came into the dining room.

Uncle Fai was sitting in his spot at the head of the table, and she kissed him on the cheek as she went by, much as she always had with Iroh. He looked up with surprise.

"My, you're in a good mood, birthday girl." He gave a small smile.

She shrugged as she set her equipment next to the table. "Shouldn't I be?"

"Well, yes, you should be. It _is_ your birthday, after all. Happy birthday, by the way."

"Thank you." She settled down across from him. "Did Aunt Ming tell you what she promised me?"

He looked at his wife, who smiled beatifically. "I shudder to think."

Lan gave him a wounded look. "What does that mean?"

"It means that my wife often makes promises that others are forced to assist her in keeping." He shot his wife an intimate smile.

Ming Yi huffed at him indignantly. "Will you _never _let me forget that?"

A smile spread across Lan's face as she alternated looking between her aunt and uncle. "What was it?"

"No!" Ming interrupted just as her husband was about to speak.

They looked long and hard at each other, then Fai shrugged.

"Tell me!" Lan begged, and slapped her hands on the table.

Ming shook her head at Fai, and he rolled his eyes. "I can't say." He folded his napkin and put it on the table. "Let me just say that it involved an eel hound and _a lot_ of towels."

Lan turned to her aunt. "You will tell me some day, Aunt Ming."

Ming lifted a tea cup to her lips. "I will not." She turned to Fai. "I promised Lan Chi that I would engage a martial arts master for her."

"What a good idea!" Fai smiled his approval, and Lan smiled back.

Just then, one of the maids brought in the traditional birthday foods and set them before Lan.

"Birthday noodles. Yay?" Lan looked at the plate askance.

"It's tradition, Lady Lan Chi. Eat your noodles." Ming pointed at the noodles.

She gave a resigned nod, picked up her chopsticks, and wound the noodles around them. "This seems like an awful _lot_ of noodles."

"Just one long one."

"Is it as long as I am tall?"

Ming looked at her warily. "It might be."

Lan grimaced. "A five foot long noodle. How wonderful."

"Stop complaining and eat your noodle."

Lan shoved the noodle in her mouth.

"No biting!" Ming reminded her, and Lan attempted to swallow. Her cheeks were full of noodle, however, and she finally, surreptitiously, bit down.

"Did I just see you bite?" Ming asked.

"Huhunh." She shook her head and finally swallowed. "Delicious." She reached for tea to wash them down.

Her aunt smiled. "Good girl. Now it's time for presents."

"But I haven't eaten the rest."

"Do you want your presents?"

Lan smiled. "Yes, please."

Ming slid a small, string-wrapped package across the table to Lan. "This came for you a few days ago."

Lan looked at it quizzically for a moment. Who could be sending her something? She recognized the handwriting on the parcel, and, as she reached out to take it, she noticed that her hand was shaking. She looked at Ming, who nodded with a small smile.

Lan untied the string and removed the wrapping. There was a note within, and a small item in a silken pouch. She opened the pouch, and removed a hair comb enameled in a beautiful jade color.

She looked at it, and handed it to her aunt. "It's lovely," Ming said as she examined it.

Lan nodded and unfolded the note.

_Dear Lan Chi,_

_I hope that this note finds you well, and that your birthday is a joyous one._

_Please accept this gift as a token of my love for you, my dearest turtleduck._

_May the spirits watch over you._

_Love,_

_Uncle Iroh_

_P.S. Zuko sends his best wishes_

Lan laid the letter on the table, stood, and fled from the room.

They heard the outside door bang shut, and Fai turned to his wife. "I _was _going to say how much she has improved since she arrived."

* * *

Lan sat on the edge of one of the terraced gardens, idly tossing pebbles into the pond below. She saw a pale skirt enter the edge of her peripheral vision.

Ming sat down beside her and dangled her legs next to Lan's. "I read your letter."

Lan threw a stone into the pond with a vicious hook. "It was _private_."

"You left it on the table."

Lan shrugged.

There was a long silence. "The comb is very beautiful." Ming said quietly.

"Yes. Like you said, it's _lovely_."

"Were you expecting more?"

Lan shook her head, and tossed another pebble. "I wasn't expecting anything." She shook her head again. "I wasn't expecting _best wishes_, that's for certain."

"Oh, I see."

"_Best wishes_." She sneered. "That's what you say to someone you _barely_ know. Not someone you wanted to marry."

"I'm sorry."

She turned to her aunt, pain evident in her eyes and on her face. "I love him so much that it _hurts_. When he left, my chest ached and I – I couldn't _breathe_." She lifted her arms in confusion. "I thought he felt the same way. And then – _best wishes_."

Ming patted her thigh.

Lan continued. "Zuko – he's _single minded_. He becomes _obsessed _with things. Before his genbuku, all he did was train. All he wanted to do was _train_. Then, after that was over, it was _me_. And now, it's the avatar." She sighed. "I liked it when he was obsessed with me."

"Oh, Lan," Ming's face softened, "you say that, but it's not true."

"No, it is. I liked it when all he wanted was _me_."

"But that's not love. Obsession is not love. Obsessions end. Love doesn't."

Lan clenched her jaw and threw a handful of pebbles. There was a series of splashes that followed, and Ming winced.

"Don't throw any more rocks. You'll kill the fish."

Lan nodded, and dropped the rest of the rocks next to her.

Ming put an arm around her niece's shoulders. "You know, if Zuko is obsessed with finding the avatar, it will end. He'll get tired of chasing him, and, if he's the man for you, he'll come here. He needs to do some growing up, I think. And maybe, by then, he'll _deserve _you. _And_, if you _want _to wait for him, I will support you."

"What if it's not for years and years?"

"Well, that's up to you to decide that – _you _make the choice whether to wait – whether to accept _him_. Don't let these _men_ take away your ability to choose. And, if you don't want to wait, well, then, you can always tell Zuko _best wishes_."

Lan gave a rueful smile. "Thank you, Aunt Ming."

"You're welcome. Now, come on. Don't you want your present from Fai and me?"

Ming fetched Fai from the house, and they took Lan to the very back of their estate, to the stables.

A smile came to Lan's face as she realized the implication. "What are we doing here?"

Fai swung the door open, and they entered the cool darkness of the barn. The carriage ostrich horses were there, as well as Fai's and Ming Yi's personal mounts. They walked to the last stall, and, within, Lan saw a beautiful, delicate ostrich horse with feathers as gray as a dove's.

Lan reached out and tentatively touched the animal's neck. "She's – she's beautiful."

Fai's chest puffed up. "And don't let her daintiness fool you. She's quite a goer."

The horse nuzzled at Lan's fingers, looking for a treat. "Oh, I'm sorry, girl." Lan cooed at her. "I don't have anything for you."

Ming extracted a small apple from her sleeve. "Here, Lan. Give her this."

Lan laughed, and proffered the fruit to the horse, who took it gently. "Do you always carry apples in your sleeves, Aunt Ming?"

Ming shrugged. "I knew we were coming here."

"What's her name? Does she have one?"

"Of course. Everything has a name. It's Jiaonen."

"Jiaonen," Lan repeated, and the horse looked at her.

"Do you like her?" Ming asked.

Lan turned to her aunt and uncle. "Like? What's _not_ to like?"

Fai smiled. "Good. Because she's yours."

Lan's smile widened. "Really?"

"Of course," Ming said dryly. "Did you think we would show you a horse and then tell you it was a rental?"

"Ming." Her husband remonstrated with his wife.

Lan laughed again, and gave them each a hug. "I had an inkling, I suppose. Thank you both." She kissed them each on the cheek. "Thank you. She's really beautiful."

Ming smiled. "Then you'll be a matching pair."

* * *

Lan was excited at the prospect of being on horseback again, and pleaded with her aunt and uncle to allow her to take the animal out right then.

"I suppose," Ming sighed. "But take the groom. You cannot ride by yourself."

"And you should not ride in _sparring clothes_," Ming pointed out. "You should wear a skirt, and use a sidesaddle."

"Oh, Aunt Ming! Just this once."

"Fine. But only this one time. Your uncle has a reputation to maintain. You _cannot _give everyone a disgust of you."

Lan crossed her heart with her fingers. "I promise that I will not single-handedly cost Uncle Fai his career."

Fai patted her on the shoulder. "Good girl."

Riding again felt better than Lan had even imagined. The freedom of the wind in her face, and the thrill of her hands on the reins, were intoxicating. Uncle Fai was right about the horse; although the animal had slender legs and was small in stature, she had a fleetness of foot that kept the groom behind her, on one of the carriage horses, alert.

Lan enjoyed exploring her new city this way. She rode to the park and down to the ocean, and through some of the quieter neighborhoods. Wherever she went, she received questioning looks – whether for her hair or her clothing or her mount, she did not know, and frankly, did not care. This was the happiest that she had been since the night of the agni kai, and she would not allow strangers to destroy that.

For a few minutes, she even forgot about Zuko.


	6. Chapter 6

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN _NICKELODEON'S AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER_ OR ITS CHARACTERS. I just weave leaf hats for the swampbenders.**

* * *

**Author's Pre-Chapter Note**: A special treat for this week - another chapter! Also, thanks to everyone who reviewed this fic! I appreciate you taking time to do that! Also, please, if you have not, vote in my poll on whether I should rate the later chapters as T or M. You have a voice - you have a choice, and it matters!

* * *

The Eastern Air Temple was a huge disappointment to Zuko.

He arrived at the temple, nestled amongst the peaks of a fiercely rugged mountain range, after nearly two weeks of travel by rhino and ostrich horse, followed by a trek of a week on foot. His men were exhausted before they even saw the temple, and, to be confronted with a hike of many days without pack animals nearly caused a mutiny, until Lieutenant Jee, much to Iroh's secret relief, kept all the men into line.

So, when Zuko first sighted the temple's towering spires, and, when he realized that all of the bridges to the temple were intact, he spent up a silent prayer of thanks to the spirits. As they approached the temple proper, Zuko cautioned his soldiers about fighting the avatar. "He has had over a hundred years to master the four elements. He will be very powerful. Our best chance of defeating him will be to take him by surprise."

The temple, however, seemed _very_ deserted – of all life, and of all signs of life.

"Uncle," Zuko whispered under his breath to Iroh, "where are all the bones?"

Iroh looked around him. Zuko was right. There were few signs that a battle had ever raged here, and _no_ signs of its victims – neither Air Nomad nor Fire Nation. Zuko and his group had found human remains in the interior of the Western Air Temple, and, although there were none at the Northern Air Temple, it was because the people now living there had disposed of them all.

It was very curious that there were none at the Eastern Air Temple.

"Be cautious, Prince Zuko."

Zuko nodded, and replaced his helmet, which he had been carrying. He stepped over to Jee and whispered his concerns. The lieutenant nodded, and passed the word amongst the men.

The Eastern Air Temple had once been beautiful. It was, in fact, still beautiful, in a primitive way, with its intricate stone carvings and elegant arches covered in lichen and overgrown in places with ivy. Serene pools still flowed in courtyards, and silent statues of long-dead airbenders sat benevolently above them.

They searched each area as they moved through it or past it, and, again, although they found no bones, they found nothing else, either.

After several hours spent searching one of the smaller wings, they were all fatigued, and Zuko gave permission for them to bivouac for the night before proceeding to the main temple.

They each took turns standing guard, and, in the morning, they renewed their search. By midday, they had searched the entire wing, and moved on to the main temple.

This portion of the temple was, if possible, more unsettling than the rest. There was little different physically, but the air in the temple felt different – lonelier. It made Zuko uneasy, and, by the looks on the faces of his men, he could tell that they felt the same.

Murals of air bison and lemurs and ethereal airbenders covered many of the walls, and Zuko felt that they looked down upon him with disapproval and enmity despite their placid expressions, as if they knew his connection to the man who had orchestrated their extinction.

The sounds of their boots echoed in the hallways, and, although Zuko despaired of sneaking up on anyone, he found himself tiptoeing. Mentally shaking himself, he tried to walk normally.

They spent the next several hours investigating the temple – like every other area they had seen, they found no human or animal remains at all, and they found little in the way of possessions or even signs of past life in the temple. Nothing in the kitchens, nothing in the living areas. It was as if all physical signs of the Air Nomads' life in the temple had been erased, and it made the hair on the back of Zuko's neck raise.

It was nearly sunset when they reached the highest levels of the temple, where the terraces were, and it was on the lowest terrace that they saw _him_, sitting cross-legged, his face away from them and towards the fading daylight.

Zuko's heart jumped into his throat.

He seemed old – ancient. He was bald, like all airbenders, and Zuko could see the edges of a very long, very white beard. The man wore a drape that covered only half of his torso and one shoulder, much like the drawings of the Air Nomads that Zuko had seen. Zuko's eyes slid to his uncle, whose face was grim.

Zuko wondered the best way to approach the avatar. Should he order the men forward to all converge on him at once? Should they all launch fireballs at him simultaneously? Should he order them to tackle him?

He wished, suddenly, that he had brought his swords with him. Cold, hard steel frequently convinced people to obey.

He looked at Iroh again. The older man looked at him at the same moment, and gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head. Zuko frowned, and pointed at the man. Iroh shook his head again, in silence, his brows drawn down.

A battle of wills was going on between the two princes, until Zuko turned away from his uncle pointedly.

The man on the terrace still had not moved. He had apparently not heard their approach nor any of their movement, and Zuko wondered if he was asleep. Why else would he not move, not take a defensive position? They could kill the old man where he sat, and yet he did not move?

Zuko's hands fisted at his side, and fire daggers flared in them. The other firebenders, with the exception of Iroh, did the same.

"Airbender!" Zuko yelled, and, in the silence, his words echoed eerily and repeatedly off the surrounding mountains.

The man still did not move, and Zuko walked towards him with purpose. "Get up! Defend yourself!" Zuko yelled again.

Zuko had almost reached him when the old man suddenly rolled forward and stood up, facing the firebenders.

Zuko, astonished, allowed his daggers to sputter and die.

The man looked at them, and, inexplicably, smiled. "Hello."

Zuko turned his surprise into anger. "Avatar! You are my prisoner."

The man's impressive brows rose, and then he laughed, a merry hooting.

Zuko colored. "Why are you laughing? What's so funny?"

"I am laughing because _I am not the avatar_!" He stopped laughing for a moment. "And because you sounded very silly!"

Zuko turned even redder. "Liar! You must be him! You must be! You're the right age! You're wearing airbender robes! You're even _bald_!"

"Prince Zuko." Iroh's hand was gentle on his arm. "It is not the avatar."

Zuko turned on him in rage. "What do you mean? _It is_! _It is_!"

Iroh shook his head. "No, Zuko. He is not an airbender."

"What do you mean? How do you know?"

"The avatar was a master airbender. This man does not have the tattoos of a master airbender." All of the other firebenders extinguished their flames at Iroh's words.

Zuko whirled to look on the old man, who stood there, looking back at him, smiling, and shaking his own head.

Zuko slumped for a moment, then, drawing himself back up, walked over and grabbed the old man's robe. "Where is he? You must know."

"I don't know." He seemed almost jubilant.

Zuko shoved him away. "Then why are you here?"

"I'm waiting for him."

"Why? Is he coming here?"

"I hope so."

"When?" Zuko asked. The old man didn't answer. "_When_?"

"I don't know." The old man repeated, shrugging carelessly.

"Then why are you _here_?"

"I had a vision that told me to come here. So I did. I've been waiting ever since. Why are _you_ here?"

"What?"

The old man put his hand against Zuko's chest, and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath, and opened them again. "You are seeking something." He seemed pleased with himself.

Zuko slapped his hand away. "Yes! I'm seeking the _avatar_."

The man looked puzzled, and shook his head. "No. No. That's not it." He pressed his thin lips together for a moment, then held a finger up. "Love." He looked at Zuko closely. "It's love you seek."

"No." Zuko gritted his teeth. "You're a crazy old man. I'm looking for the avatar!"

The other man shrugged. "If you say so. But you won't find him here. There are no airbenders here."

Iroh stepped up to him. "Did you remove everything? The – bones?"

He looked at Iroh, and, for the first time, the old man's face was sad. "Yes. They were my friends – no, more than my friends. My _brothers_ and _sisters_. Their spirits could not be free as long as they were left thusly. So I released them." He turned back to Zuko. "It took nearly thirty years. I did the same for the soldiers, even though they should not have been here."

Zuko's face slackened, from anger into resignation. "How long _have_ you been here?"

He smiled again, gently. "Many years. I am not certain." He pointed to the wall of the temple. "I can show you, though." He led them over to a series of marks in the stone. Hundreds and hundreds. He pointed at a few. "I made a mark every full moon. And every twelve full moons, I crossed them all out, and started over."

Zuko looked at all the scratches. There were more than fifty sets of marks. "You've been here over fifty years?"

"Yes." The man nodded. "I can tell you how many, for certain, if you'd like." Without waiting for an answer, he began counting. "Seven – no – eight. Right. Carry the one. Nineteen..." His voice trailed off. "Eighty-four." He turned back to Zuko. "Eighty-four." He looked back at his calendar again. "If I added right. I may not have. But I could not be off by more than a year or two – at most."

"And how old were you when you came here?" Iroh asked.

The old man smiled again. "I was seventy. Almost a boy." He laughed, a deep, merry laugh.

Zuko was amazed. "Did you know him? Did you meet him?"

"Who?"

The young prince became frustrated. "The avatar, of course!"

Another smile, this time gentle. "No. I never did. But I will, someday."

"He is alive, then?"

"My vision told me that he was. Of course, that was –" he pointed over his shoulder at the marks on the wall. "Eighty-four years ago."

* * *

Although Lan Chi's schedule became busier, she was more content with her new life. Every day fell into a pattern. She awoke every morning and went for a ride on her new ostrich horse, and, even though she was forced to wear a proper habit, use a sidesaddle, and have a groom accompany her, she loved it. The mornings were beautiful and serene, with the sun sparkling on the sea and the birds chirping in the trees.

After riding, she changed into sparring clothes, and spent the next two hours with her new master, an elderly gentleman who had taught all three of Ming and Fai's sons, who were now adults and scattered throughout the Fire Nation and its colonies.

After martial arts training, she spent the remainder of the morning practicing the liuqin. After the liuqin, she and Aunt Ming ate lunch together, and then she had dancing instruction three times a week. On days that she wasn't dancing, she practiced embroidery with Aunt Ming, which she enjoyed greatly. Every afternoon, she assisted the cook in preparing dinner. Ming explained to her that, although it was unlikely that Lan would ever have to cook for her family on a daily basis, it was an important skill to have, and taught patience and planning.

Lan enjoyed everything that she was engaged in now – even the liuqin. She found that, if she actually practiced each evening, she started to play better. _What a concept_, she thought to herself – _practice makes perfect_.

Her uncle Fai was gone most of the time now, traveling around the colonies, dispensing Fire Nation justice, so she and Ming Yi were forced to spend quite a bit of time together. Fortunately, for the two of them, they got on well. Lan Chi discovered that Ming Yi had a wicked sense of humor, and, if one did not mind her planning every facet of every day, she was quite accommodating.

Her aunt shared many stories of her youth spent with her brothers and sisters, concentrating on tales that involved Lan's father, Yan, and Su Hsing, Iroh's wife. As one of eight brothers and sisters, there were quite a few stories to relay. Lan was struck with envy over Ming's experiences with her father – it seemed unfair that Ming had spent so much time with her father, while she, his own daughter, had been given so little of him. Lan was also a bit jealous that Ming had grown up in a big, raucous, loving family, while she herself had grown up, for the most part, alone. However, Lan enjoyed the stories quite a bit – it made her feel closer to her father and Su Hsing, and to Ming Yi herself.

About four months after Lan Chi's arrival in Lao Hai, at the beginning of autumn, she began accompanying her aunt on social calls. It was the beginning of the social season in the city, after families began returning from summers spent in the country, and Ming Yi, as the wife of an important politician, was among the most sought after guests and hostesses in the colony.

At first, Lan Chi had been apprehensive about this, fearing that, as in the Fire Nation capital, she would be shunned for her heritage, and ridiculed for her hair, but Ming Yi waved those objections away.

"No one would _dare_ to cut you, Lan." She shook her head. "Not unless they want to be ostracized." She gave a superior smile. "This is _my _city – and no one better forget that. That color is lovely on you, my dear." Ming was overseeing Lan's dressing, assisted by Ming's own ladies' maid. Ming had determined that Lan should, finally, have her own maid, but, demanding as she was, Ming had not yet found anyone to meet her exacting standards

Lan, who had chosen a pale green robe that complemented her coloring, smiled. "Thank you, Aunt Ming. Do you think it appropriate to wear my hair down?" Sitting at her vanity, with the maid fussing around her, she picked up her heavy hair and looked at her reflection in the mirror.

Ming shrugged. "I don't see why not. It's beautiful."

Lan let it fall, and the maid arranged it around her shoulders, careful not to dislodge the comb that Iroh had sent for her birthday, which Lan had decided to wear.

"Uncle always said that my hair should not be unbound among single men."

Ming shrugged. "Firstly, the chances that you will see a single man at this tea party are slim." She looked into Lan's eyes through the mirror's reflection. "Secondly, Iroh is a fuddy duddy. No one cares about something like that anymore."

Lan looked unconvinced. "If you say so."

"I do." Ming touched her own hair as she peered into the mirror. "Now, if you're quite ready, we should be going. We don't want to be _too_ late."

In the carriage on the way over, Ming briefed Lan Chi on the ins and outs of the Lao Hai social world. "Today we're going to the Biaozis'. Chou Biaozi is the _worst_ gossip that you will ever meet, so, _please_ don't give her any ammunition. There will already be talk about why you're here, and, of course, there's bound to be talk about your parents, and your hair, etc., so let's not give the old harridan anything else!"

Lan grimaced. "What should I tell her if she asks why I'm here?"

"Well, we'll stick to the truth as much as possible. Iroh has decided to travel the world, and he thought it best for you to stay in one place, so he sent you here."

"But don't they know he has gone with Zuko?"

"Of course they know, but they _don't_ know anything about _you_ and Zuko – so let's keep it that way." Ming thought for a moment. "They may ask you questions about Zuko. Avoid them as much as you can. If you _can't_ avoid the questions, try to be as non-committal as possible. No one needs to know the dirty details about the agni kai or what happened with Ozai. It's none of their business, after all. And, for spirits' sake, _don't _talk _any _politics at all. Nothing about the war. Nothing about the Fire Lord. It would reflect very poorly upon Fai."

"Yes, Ma'am." Lan was now _very_ nervous about the party.

Ming patted her on the hand. "But don't forget to have fun!"

* * *

The Biaozis' tea party was every bit as horrible and nerve-wracking as Ming had warned.

"Ming!" How _wonderful_ to see you!" Chou Biaozi's voice was treacly sweet as she greeted Ming and Lan Chi.

They exchanged exaggeratedly low bows, and then Chou turned to Lan, and took a visible step back, her face shocked – whether real or feigned, Lan Chi could not tell. The woman belatedly welcomed Lan. "And is this your _niece_?" The woman's smile was more like a baring of her teeth.

"Oh, yes." Ming laid a maternal hand on Lan Chi's shoulder. "_Lady _Lan Chi Sun, may I present Chou Biaozi?" She turned to Lan. "Chou does _not _have a title," she gave the other woman an ersatz smile. "Poor thing."

Lan bowed, and, as she straightened, Chou grabbed her hands in a deathly tight grip. "How _delighted_ I am to meet you."

Lan's face twisted in pain, and she firmly removed her fingers from the woman's claws. "I am honored to meet you, Ma'am. Thank you for inviting me to your lovely home."

Her pleased smile was artificial. "Oh, no, my _dear_. I should be thanking you – you absolutely _light_ up my home – with your _lovely_ hair color, and all."

Ming's face settled into a sneer. "Yes, it is _quite_ drab in here, Chou. Perhaps you should repaint. After all, you've had this color and this _décor_ for as long as I've _known_ you."

Lan could see the anger bubbling beneath the surface of her hostess's demeanor. "Allow me to make you known to the rest of my guests, _Lady _Lan Chi." She said between gritted teeth, and introduced Lan to the other women, all of whom were about Ming's age, and who all greeted Lan with chilly reserve.

Ming ignored their obvious reticence, and settled down on the low sofa as if she were a queen and all those around her peasants. "Do sit by me, Lan. And Chou," she waved the woman to a cushion, "you may sit there."

Chou sent her a venomous look, but did as she was bade, even though it made it difficult to pour tea for her guests. She dutifully handed Ming Yi, as the highest born, the first cup, but Ming foiled her by passing the cup to Lan and holding her hands out for the second cup. Lan wondered whether Chou was a firebender, and hoped fervently that she would not find out that day, since it appeared that the other woman was ready to explode.

After tea and cookies were served, Chou made a point of sipping hers slowly. "We _so_ missed you at the lake this summer, Ming. Such a pity that you had to stay in town – what with your country home in _such _disrepair."

Ming shrugged with insouciance. "Oh, I know, Chou, I know. I missed you terribly, too. And I told Fai that we did not need to renovate so _soon_ after the last time. I mean, _really_, look how long it's been since you've done anything to that quaint _little_ cottage of yours. And we don't need more than four thousand square feet – I told Fai that." She patted Lan on the knee fondly. "It's only the three of us, after all."

Chou's lip lifted. "_Indeed_." She turned to one of the other women. "Niu, I understand your son is going to marry that _delightful_ Mantou. My, she has gained some weight lately. But, don't worry. I'm certain she'll slim down in six months or so."

While Chou was busy torturing her friend, Lan felt her hand being squeezed sympathetically by her aunt. "You're doing fine," she whispered to Lan.

"Of course I'm doing fine," Lan hissed back. "I've barely said five words."

"Keep it that way. She can't trap you if you don't talk." Ming whispered to her fiercely.

"Now, now, you two." Chou interrupted them with a smile of false gaiety. "No secrets."

Ming smiled back. "Oh, we need to keep _something_ from you, Chou. No other way to keep you on your toes."

"Hmm. Well, Lady Lan Chi, I know that you've recently arrived from the capital."

Lan nodded. "Yes, Ma'am."

"And how _exciting _things have been there lately!"

Lan knew where Chou was heading, and she compressed her lips.

"You must tell us _all_ about the agni kai between the Fire Lord and that _insolent_ boy of his."

Lan paled, and she looked down at her hands. Chou noticed this, and, with a gleam in her eyes, went in for the kill.

Ming noticed, and her eyes narrowed. "I hardly think this the time, Chou –"

The other woman, however, was not to be swayed. "Nonsense, Ming. It's just a little bit of news. Unless, of course, Lady Lan Chi is too _upset_ to speak of it." She gave Lan a toxic smile.

Lan looked at her hostess and knew, with certainty, that this was a test – that the way she answered now would set the tone for the way she would be treated by these women in the future. A superior smile crept over her own face. "Well, Madame Biaozi, I would, of course, but I do not want anyone to think that you were encouraging gossip about your _betters_."

* * *

Ming and Lan laughed all the way back home, giggling like schoolgirls over the look on Chou's face after Lan delivered her setdown.

"Did you see her?" Ming chortled. "She was as white as the tablecloth."

"I thought that she was going to drop her teacup into her lap!"

"Well, it serves her right, the nosy old hag! She just wanted to trap you into saying something embarrassing."

"Well, she failed."

Ming patted her knee. "Yes, she did."

Lan squinted at the older woman. "Aunt Ming, are you _certain_ that you and Su Hsing are sisters?"

Ming looked at her in astonishment, and then went off into peals of laughter. "My goodness, Lan, aren't you diplomatic? I suppose you mean that my sister was tactful and kind?"

"Yes. She was."

"And I am not?"

"You are – different."

"Yes. I am. I most certainly am." She did not seem displeased. "Well, when we were growing up, our father called Su Hsing his little butterfly."

"Oh, that's sweet."

"I was his little wasp." Ming Yi admitted.

Lan chuckled. "I think perhaps I might be a little more like you than I am like Su Hsing."

Ming gave her shoulders a quick squeeze with one arm. "That's quite all right. It's definitely more interesting."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Hope you enjoyed Zuko's trip to the Eastern Air Temple, and his little chat with Guru Pathik. I hope that I was true to the guru's personality. I hope that you also liked Lan Chi's first tea party in Lao Hai, and her experience with one of the city's busiest busybodies. (Lots of hope in those sentences...)

I want to thank my two betareaders, bowow0708 and sunflower13, for their speedy and wonderful work! I also want to thank jrba95 for her new fanart. Check her out on deviantart!


	7. Chapter 7

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN _NICKELODEON'S AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER_ OR ITS CHARACTERS. I just shave the wool off koala-sheep (wow, that's really random).**

* * *

**Author's Pre-Chapter Note**: I am the proud new owner of "Avatar: The Art of the Animated Series," and I made an interesting discovery! On page 137, below a picture of the Fire Nation capital, is a caption that reads "Royal Caldera City," (capitalized as you see here), so I'm going with that as the name of the capital! Mystery solved (for me, at least)!

* * *

"All right, Uncle – Jee – men, we are going to fan out." Zuko pointed to two of the firebenders. "I would like you to canvass the people in the market area. You know what to ask." He ticked them off on his fingers. "One – have they seen any _old_ men with arrow tattoos or any old men who wear hats and long sleeves _all _the time? Two – have there _ever_ been any strange, unexplained things, like wind storms that have come out of nowhere? Three – have they ever seen or met an old man who seems to be able to bend more than one element? Four –"

"Prince Zuko, may I interrupt?" Iroh raised a hand.

Zuko sighed in aggravation. "What is it, Uncle?"

"I was hoping that _I_ might be allowed to cover the market. You see, I have broken one of my sandals, and –"

"No, Uncle!" Zuko stopped him. "We all know what happened last time you _covered_ the market."

"I said that I was sorry."

"Yes, I know. But we barely escaped with our lives." He looked at Iroh pointedly. "_You_ are going to take one of the rhinos and go to the outlying farms and investigate there."

"That could take all day." Iroh had little desire to spend the day bumping around the dusty countryside on a rhino.

"_Have you somewhere else to be_?" Zuko yelled, his patience at an end, flames licking at his fists.

"Well, I _do_ need new sandals."

"_Uncle_!"

Iroh slumped, disappointed. "I will go to the farms."

"Jee, you and the rest of the firebenders talk to the townspeople. Go door to door if you must."

"Yes, your highness."

"And where will you go, Prince Zuko?" Iroh was hoping to swap with his nephew.

"I'm going to the garrison." He pointed to the fortified building on a hill overlooking the harbor. "If there are rumors," he squinted up at it, "they will know."

He dismissed the men, and they all obeyed, with the exception of Iroh, who hung back, putting a hand on Zuko's arm to stop him.

Zuko resisted the impulse to roll his eyes. "Yes, Uncle?"

Iroh made to speak, then stopped, then opened his mouth again, although no sound came out.

"What _is_ it, Uncle?"

"Prince Zuko, perhaps it would be – best, if I went to the garrison in your place, or if I accompanied you."

"You are not getting out of going to the farms."

Iroh shook his head. "No, it is not that." At Zuko's skeptical look, he continued. "Really. It's just that – well, Zuko, when you are dealing with high-ranking military men, a bit of _finesse_ is required. You can't use _fear_ – or intimidation."

"When have I used fear or intimidation?"

_Every day_, Iroh wanted to say. Since leaving the Eastern Air Temple, since talking with the old man there, Zuko had become harder – he was more impatient, more apt to snap at people – _bitter_. With Jee, with the other men, and with Iroh himself, he was distant and forbidding.

"The officers of the garrison – I know how to talk to them, Zuko. Let me go with you."

Zuko looked at Iroh, unconvinced. He didn't _need_ his uncle's help. He didn't _want_ it, either. He wanted to solve his own problems – he wanted to find the avatar on his own. He wanted to prove to his father that he _could _solve his own problems – that he was a fit heir. But, perhaps his uncle had a point. Iroh _had_ been in the army for more than half his life. He knew how to talk to these men – he could speak their language. And, what kind of a Fire Lord would he, Zuko, be, if he could not accept help and utilize the talents of those around him?

"All right, Uncle. You can come with me." He turned to walk away, but stopped, and turned back to look at his uncle. "Thank you."

* * *

The men at the garrison gates were either unimpressed by royalty, or unimpressed by Zuko's assertion that he and his uncle _were_ royalty. Either way, the two of them were denied entrance.

Zuko stood in front of the closed portcullis, tapping his riding crop on his boot and fuming. "We're _princes_ of the Fire Nation, Uncle! Who do they think they are to deny us entry?"

Iroh shrugged in good humor. "They are just doing their jobs, Prince Zuko. They do not know who we are; it's not as if we have _paperwork_ stating who we are." He smiled. "Give them a few moments to consult their superiors – I'm certain that everything will work out."

A dignified-looking man in a Fire Nation uniform with a colonel's insignia peered through the gate, and jumped visibly. He stepped back and made a turning motion with his arm. "It _is_ the Dragon of the West, you dolts! Let them in! Let them in!"

As the gate rolled up, Iroh smiled at his nephew. "See? I told you that all would go well."

Zuko stared back at him stonily.

The colonel rushed forth, followed by his subordinates. "Welcome, General Iroh! Welcome!" He bowed. "And Prince Zuko." He bowed to him. "An honor to have you both at our humble garrison."

Zuko was bolstered by this. "Please have someone see to our mounts." He handed the reins to one of the soldiers with an air of entitlement and brushed past the colonel, who followed him with resentful eyes.

Iroh noted this, and tried to smooth it over. "Colonel? I'm sorry, I did not catch your name."

"Colonel Zheng, Sir." They fell in side by side to walk to the garrison building, to which Zuko had already begun.

"Zheng. Thank you for opening the gate. How did you know we are, in fact, who we say that we are?"

"I served under you when you were in the northern Earth Kingdom. Right before the Battle of Shan Qu."

Iroh brightened. "Ah! A good battle! We routed the enemy, didn't we?"

Zheng puffed. "Yes, so we did, Sir."

Iroh's face crumpled a bit. "We lost a lot of good men, though."

Zheng nodded grimly. "Yes, we did."

They were silent for a moment, then Iroh jovially gave him a pat on the back. "But we are here, eh? Two old war horses?"

Zuko rolled his eyes, although neither man noticed.

A guard opened the door for the three of them, and they passed through into the main hallway, and then into the colonel's office. Zheng ushered them into chairs before his desk. "May I offer tea, your highnesses?"

Iroh lit up. "Oh, yes! Have you hibiscus? They are native here, are they not?"

"Yes, yes, indeed." He gave the order, and one of the guards nodded and was gone.

"Tell me, Zheng," Iroh made himself comfortable, "which division were you in?"

As the two older men began swapping war stories, Zuko stood and wandered around his office. There were scrolls nailed to the wall – maps of the city and the surrounding countryside, and official orders. Zuko fingered one and let it drop. "Should you post these here, Colonel? Isn't this classified information?" He interrupted their conversation.

The officer looked at the wall, and then at Zuko. "Classified information? From whom should we safeguard it, Prince Zuko? The Earth Kingdom peasants who unload the ships? Or those who till the land?" He waved his hand airily. "We have no trouble here. There has not been a whiff of a rebellion here in twenty years – more." He shook his head. "No. We do not have that trouble here. These people are too concerned with putting food on the table to bother with resistance. You know the Fire Nation motto – _keep them busy, keep them docile_. Works for us!"

"Oh, yes! Quite!" Iroh chuckled as a corporal arrived with tea. "Oh, smells delicious! Hibiscus tea is so aromatic, isn't it?" Iroh rubbed his hands in anticipation.

The colonel began pouring the tea, but Zuko refused with a wave of his hand and continued looking at the maps. "Colonel," he pointed at one of the maps, "are these _caves_ in the northwest corner of the district?"

"Yes. They are a day's ride."

Zuko nodded, thinking. "Have they ever been searched for the avatar – or for rebels, for that matter?"

The colonel's brows went up. "The avatar? The avatar's been dead for a hundred years."

Zuko dropped his hand and turned to face Zheng. "The sages say differently. As do other – _sources_."

"And what is your interest in the avatar, Prince Zuko?"

Iroh laughed, trying to deflect the question. If the man did not know about the agni kai, and Zuko's banishment, Iroh did not want to inform him. "Oh, you know – like father, like son."

The man's eyes narrowed. Ozai's trek around the world more than twenty years before was almost legendary – for its brutality, and for its failure. Ozai had searched, all right, burning everything and everyone who stood in his way or resisted. And, yet, he had not found the prize for which he had searched.

"Perhaps you will have more – luck, your highness."

Zuko did not turn. "I don't need luck."

"More _success_, then."

Zuko faced him then, his face impassive. "I will. _I_ intend to find the avatar, and win this war, once and for all."

* * *

Zuko, of course, wanted to search the caves he had spotted on the map. At first, Colonel Zheng had refused his permission outright, but some cajoling and flattery by the Dragon of the West convinced the man to allow it and lend some men and rhinos for the expedition. Besides, Iroh reasoned, it was never a bad thing to give the colonists a show of strength. They needed to be reminded, sometimes, who was in charge.

Zuko's men, naturally, found nothing in town. No one had ever seen an airbender nor anything that could be attributed to an airbender, and no one had ever heard tales of any surviving Air Nomads. They were free, then, to explore the outlying farms that Iroh had never reached.

So, with a force of borrowed soldiers, Zuko and Iroh rode out to the caves. It was, as Zheng had said, a full day's ride, and, although it did not fatigue Zuko, Iroh was stiff by the time they arrived. As usual, Zuko was very excited about the possibility to finding the avatar, and he was convinced, as he always was, that the airbender was just around the next corner or the next rock, waiting to be found. Alas, as always, the avatar was not to be found, although they did find a small band of highwaymen who had been plaguing the region's roads for some time, and, so Colonel Zheng, at least, considered the expedition a success.

It was a tired Zuko and an exhausted Iroh who returned to the town the next day, and, after thanking the colonel for his assistance, Zuko returned to the ship. Iroh, who had been very winded, had asked the colonel for a restorative cup of tea, and Zuko had not seen a reason to stay with his uncle.

Jee and the others had had no success in the countryside, which Zuko had expected, and he disconsolately ordered his lieutenant to ready the ship. Iroh came aboard about an hour later, and Zuko gave the order to depart.

"Well, what a successful trip!" Iroh leaned over the rail and smiled tiredly as they pulled away from the pier.

Zuko's brows drew down. "How so? We did _not_ find the avatar."

"Well, we made a new ally in Colonel Zheng, and we assisted him in taking some dangerous criminals off the streets." He clapped Zuko on the back. "And, I got new sandals!" He pulled out a sack that had been concealed in his sleeve. "All in all, a successful visit."

Zuko gave him a dark look.

* * *

"No, you must roll it out more evenly, my lady." Zhifang, the Liang cook, took the rolling pin from Lan. "If you do not, the skin of the dumpling will be too thick in some areas, and too thin in others." She demonstrated, leaning on the rolling pin and flattening the dough out to a uniform thickness. "See?" She lifted the thin sheet up and presented it to Lan.

Lan nodded. "Very nice."

The cook crumpled the dough back into a ball and slapped it onto the counter.

Lan gave a squeal of dismay. "That was perfect, Zhi! Why did you do that?"

"Because _I_ know how to make dumplings. You do not." She pointed at the rolling pin. "Try it again."

Lan sighed and rolled her eyes. "Yes. All right."

She pressed the dough into the counter with her hand, and then put the rolling pin to it. She put her elbows up, hunched her shoulders, and rolled the dough out. When she was finished, she stepped back to allow Zhifang to inspect it.

"No." The woman wadded the dough back up, and Lan groaned.

"Zhifang, that dough is going to be inedible." Ming Yi stood in the doorway.

The cook looked up at her employer and smiled. "We aren't eating _that_ dough. I made the dumpling skins earlier."

"What?!" Lan was outraged, but Ming Yi laughed and clapped her hands in mirth.

Zhifang grinned at Lan Chi. "This is just _practice_ for you, my lady. It's dinner for _us_."

Lan laid the rolling pin down. "Oh, fine. Make fun of me."

"Well, let's leave Zhifang to finish dinner. The newest candidate is here."

Lan and Ming Yi had been interviewing prospective ladies' maids for the past week. There had been some very qualified candidates, but none who had been satisfactory in Ming Yi's eyes.

"Can't you just interview her and find something wrong with her by yourself?" Lan asked.

"Very funny, young lady. Come on."

Lan dusted her hands together, removed her apron, and followed her aunt to the sitting room.

The young lady who stood upon their entrance did not seem to be much older than Lan Chi herself – perhaps sixteen or seventeen. She was very tall, even taller than Ming Yi, and broad shouldered, like many of the Earth Kingdom people now under Fire Nation rule. She had light brown hair that was pulled back into a severe bun, and long bangs that nearly obscured her eyes, although Lan could see that her eye color was hazel – a sure sign of Earth Kingdom ancestry.

She bowed deeply, and Lan Chi did the same. When Lan's eyes came up, she saw that the girl was gaping at her – at her hair, presumably. Unperturbed, Lan smiled. She was much too used to stares to be insulted.

Ming Yi settled herself on the sofa, and indicated that the maid should sit in an adjacent chair. Lan sat beside her aunt, and noticed a crusting of dried dough on the side of her arm. She tried to wipe it away surreptitiously, although most of it landed in her lap.

"You are?" Ming started the interview.

She pulled her eyes away from Lan. "Oh – oh, Changda – my lady."

"Well, Changda, I understand that you have some information for us?" Ming asked in her most imperious voice.

"Oh – oh, yes, my lady – ladies, I mean." The girl blushed and handed over a scrolled parchment.

Ming untied the ribbon and unrolled the parchment. She read over the words, nodding and making small sounds in her throat. "So I see that your mother, both of your aunts, and your two older sisters are all successful ladies' maids?"

The girl's head bobbed.

"Is that a _yes_?" Ming's brow arched.

"Yes, oh, yes, my lady."

"And all are employed in Fire Nation households here in the city?"

"Yes, Ma'am. I mean, my lady."

Ming nodded. "And you apprenticed with them?"

"Yes, my lady." Her eyes slid to Lan Chi, who was completely disinterested, picking at another spot of dried dough. "For – for the past year."

"But you yourself have never been employed as a ladies' maid."

Changda's face fell. "No, my lady."

"I see." She dragged her eyes over the girl. "Your family has a farm here, is that true?"

"Y – yes, my lady. How did you know?"

Ming smiled. "You've a farm girl's build. Tall, with strong arms and shoulders."

The girl's face became red. "Is – is that a problem?"

Ming smiled, finally. "Not at all. I was just testing my powers of deduction."

Changda looked puzzled.

Ming turned to her niece. "Lady Lan Chi, have you any questions?"

"What?" Lan pulled herself from her reveries, which, although she would have denied it, all involved Zuko – Zuko holding her hand, Zuko kissing her...

"Have you any questions for Changda?"

Lan looked at the other girl curiously. She seemed nice enough, although it was difficult to tell with the maid's eyes cast to the ground submissively.

"No. I don't think so." Lan shook her head. She knew that her aunt would make the decision, so she knew that any questions that she herself could ask would have no consequence.

Ming slapped her thighs. "That's it, then."

Changda's shoulders slumped, and she stood. "Thank you anyway, my lady. It was a pleasure to meet you."

Ming stood, as well, followed by Lan Chi. "Can you move in tomorrow?"

"Wha?" Changda was clearly astonished. "I – I got the job?"

"Well, why not? You've never been a lady's maid before, and my niece has never had one before. It should work out perfectly." She turned to Lan. "Don't you think, Lan?"

Lan Chi looked at her new ladies' maid again. "Yes, Aunt Ming. I don't see why it shouldn't."

* * *

True to her word, Changda moved in the next day, assigned to a room with one of the senior housemaids. She was very excited, and her family was ecstatic – and surprised. Of all the seven children in the family, Changda was the quietest and the most placid, and her parents had resigned themselves to her remaining at home for the rest of her life. They did not want that for their youngest daughter – out in the big world, gainfully employed, she might find a greater purpose – and even a husband, if all went well.

Upon moving in, Changda's first assignment was to go through Lan Chi's wardrobe and do any necessary mending. Changda diligently went through all of Lan's robes and found a hem or two that needed restitching.

She was just sitting down to that task when she accidentally knocked over a row of portraits by Lan Chi's bed. She hastened to pick them up.

"Here, let me help." Lan had entered the room silently, and Changda jumped.

"I'm sorry," Lan smiled. "Did I scare you?"

Changda averted her eyes. "No, my lady."

Lan set the pictures back up. "You don't need to be scared of me, Changda. I don't bite."

The maid blushed, and stood before Lan, her hands folded demurely.

Lan threw herself down on the bed, and, when Changda did not move, Lan gave a puzzled look. "Are you waiting for something? Am I sitting on something you need?" She twisted to look under her.

"N – no, my lady. I – I am not to sit in your presence."

Lan's brows rose. "Really? That's rather silly. How are you to do your mending if you do not sit?"

"I – I don't know, my lady." Changda's eyes did not rise.

"Well, sit down, do. Don't mind me. Really."

Changda reluctantly sat, and, when she looked up at her new employer, Lan smiled.

Lan was intrigued by this newcomer. She knew why Ming had chosen Changda as her ladies' maid. Changda had been the youngest person, by far, to apply for the position, and her aunt had seen, in the young woman, a possible companion for Lan. Lan did not mind – she had not had a friend her age since Ling at the Royal Fire Academy for Girls, and, she admitted, sometimes she felt lonely surrounded by only adults.

Still, she could not _force _the girl to be her friend, or to feel comfortable around her, so she thought to put her at her ease.

"So you have two sisters?"

Changda had taken the mending on her knee. "Yes, my lady."

"I don't have any sisters."

The other girl was quiet.

"How many brothers do you have?" Lan asked.

"Four, my lady."

"All older?"

"Three older, one younger."

"Oh. I had a brother. He died."

Changda looked up, sympathy on her face. "I'm so sorry, my lady."

Lan shrugged. "It was a long time ago. He was just a baby."

"I'm still sorry."

Lan smiled. "Thank you." She idly kicked her night stand. "You probably know my parents are both dead."

Changda blushed. She did know that. "Yes, my lady. I am sorry for you." She looked up, stricken. "I mean – for that."

"I understand." She picked up her mother's picture from the nightstand and held it out. "This is my mother. She was Water Tribe."

Changda looked at her in shock.

"I know. Mixed marriage. Odd, isn't it?"

"N – no, my lady. Not at all."

"It is odd. I don't mind if you think that. _I_ think that, too. But," she shrugged, "they loved each other."

"She was quite beautiful."

Lan smiled. "Thank you. She died giving birth to my brother. I – I don't remember her much." She laid her mother's portrait on the bed, and showed Changda her father's picture. "This is my father. He was a great war hero." Remembering that Changda was actually Earth Kingdom, she realized that the maid may not see her father in the same light, and she blushed. "He was Lady Ming Yi's brother." She laid it down with her mother's portrait. "He died in the war."

"I'm so sorry. So many people have died in the war. I lost two uncles." She paled. "Th – they did not live near here. They were fighting somewhere else. They were not rebels! I swear! We – we would never rebel –"

Lan blushed even redder. How odd to think that this girl who sat in front of her had family who fought on the other side of the war. Lan held her hand up. "Please don't worry, Changda. I do not think either you or your family disloyal."

"Oh, oh, thank you, my lady. I really did not mean anything by it."

"I know you did not."

Changda dropped her eyes to her stitches. "Thank you."

Lan rushed on to Su Hsing's picture. "This was another aunt. Ming's sister. I used to live with her, but she – died." Lan looked at the picture. "She was very kind." She laid that frame on the bed, too, and picked up Iroh's picture. "This is her husband. I lived with him, after my aunt died."

Changda's brow furrowed. "He looks familiar."

"Really? I don't know why. He –" she stopped. _He might look familiar because he's the __**Dragon of the West**__! You ninny! He may have been the one who __**killed**__her uncles, or the general who ordered the troops in the battle that killed them._

She quickly put down the portrait.

"Has he – is he – still alive?" Changda did not know how to ask, so she stumbled over her words.

"Oh, yes. He's – traveling. With my – cousin."

"Oh. Is that why you aren't living with him anymore?"

Lan looked at the portrait a long moment before laying it down. "Yes."

There was a long silence, and Changda, now interested, pointed at Lu Ten's portrait. "Is that your sweetheart?"

Panicked for a moment, she looked around, but, then, realizing that Changda referred to Lu Ten, she smiled slightly and shook her head. "No. That's my cousin."

"The one traveling with your uncle?"

"No. My uncle is traveling with my cousin, Zuko. This is my cousin, Lu Ten. He was Su Hsing's son."

"Was?"

Lan nodded somberly. "Yes. He was killed in the war, too."

"I'm so sorry."

"Thank you. I miss him so much. After my parents died, my uncle Iroh and Aunt Su Hsing adopted me, and I was raised as Lu Ten's sister." A nostalgic smile came over her face. "He was the greatest brother anyone could ever ask for. And the greatest person ever."

"He's very handsome. He looks a lot like your father."

Lan looked at Lu Ten again. "Yes, you're right. He does. Funny that I never noticed it."

"Do you have a picture of your other cousin? What's his name? Starts with a Z?"

Lan tore her eyes away from Lu Ten. "Zuko?" She shook her head sadly. "No. I was going to get one made, but..." she paused. "Something bad happened to him, and I never did."

"Oh, no. He must be all right, though, right? He's traveling with your uncle, after all."

Lan Chi laid Lu Ten's picture on the pile. "I don't know. I guess he's all right."

Changda heard the note of sadness in Lan's voice. "I'm certain that he's fine."

Lan looked at her. "I hope that you're right."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Here we have the introduction of Lan's new and permanent ladies' maid, who is from the Earth Kingdom. Hmmm...that may cause some awkwardness, since there is a war going on, and all. We also get some more of Ming Yi's shenanigans - I have read several reviews that cite her as a favorite, and I am glad! She will come in and out of the story for a long time, dispensing her special brand of tough love and take-no-prisoners mothering!


	8. Chapter 8

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN _NICKELODEON'S AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER_ OR ITS CHARACTERS. I just mix the colors for Sokka's war paint.**

* * *

**Author's Pre-Chapter Notes: **Happy Labor day, Americans! And happy Monday to the rest of the world! To celebrate a Monday when I can sleep late, I decided to post another chapter. I do have to break some bad news, though: I probably won't post two chapters again in one week for a while. Anyway, have a great day!

* * *

Zuko concentrated at his task. Eighty-nine. Ninety. Ninety-one. Ninety-two.

"Prince Zuko, I think that is enough."

"Just a few more, Uncle." Ninety-three. Ninety-four.

"Really, it's very hot out. You needn't do push ups in full armor."

Ninety-five, ninety-six. "It's self-discipline." Ninety-seven. Ninety-eight. Ninety-nine. One hundred. He finished, and shifted to sit on the deck. "I know self-discipline is foreign to you, Uncle." He gave the overweight man a meaningful look, and wiped his sweating brow on his sleeve.

Iroh took no umbrage. "I have self-discipline, Prince Zuko. I just do not care to _exercise_ it."

Zuko scrambled to his feet, walked over to the water bucket, and brought the ladle up to his mouth. Even though it was lukewarm, he drank it down thirstily. "Well, I _need _to exercise it." He pointed to the horizon with the ladle. "The avatar is out there, and I need to be ready to face him."

Iroh sighed. He was beginning to recognize this side of his nephew. When Zuko began talking of capturing the avatar, Iroh knew better than to try to talk sense into him. It was an exercise in futility. It was better to allow it to work itself out of his system – although those times were becoming few and far between.

"At least take a break and come look at these maps. We must decide where to stop prior to the Southern Air Temple."

Zuko sighed, as well, and came over to where Iroh sat at a low table, under an open umbrella. The old man had spread a series of maps over its surface, all held down with rocks.

Zuko sat down, reached beneath his arms to pull at the ties that held his armor, and pulled it off over his head, setting it on the deck beside him. "Where are we?"

Iroh smiled, and pointed to a spot in the middle of the ocean. "There – or thereabouts, at least." He traced his finger over an imaginary route to an island far southwest of them. "And this is the Southern Air Temple."

"How long to get there, if we go directly?"

"A month, at least. But," he tapped his finger over a narrow strip of water between an island and the mainland. "We should go around Whale Tail Island to the north. The water is calmer here. Much choppier if we go to the south."

"But those are Earth Kingdom controlled waters, aren't they?"

"Yes, I believe so."

"So you are advocating we sail _through _Earth Kingdom waters?"

"Well, normally, I would say that we should avoid areas that they are actively defending, but the waters south of the island are shallow and rather dangerous – even for a craft our size. Lieutenant Jee and the helmsman feel the same."

"Well, when _Jee_ and the helmsman command this ship, we will allow them to make the decisions."

Iroh dredged up more patience. "They do have the experience of sailing these waters, Prince Zuko."

A muscle ticked in his jaw. "_Fine_. We'll take the northern route."

Iroh smiled. "Good, good. We can stop up here on the continent and re-supply."

"Fine." Zuko repeated, nodding.

"Right here, in fact," he pointed to a peninsula, "is a Fire Nation colony. We can get whatever we need."

Zuko peered at the writing on the map closely. "Lao Hai. That sounds familiar."

A redness came to Iroh's face. "Well, yes, er – perhaps."

Realization dawned on Zuko. "No." He shook his head emphatically. "Oh, no. Absolutely not."

"But, Zuko, it has been more than six months."

He stood. "I don't care if it's been six _years_! I will not go there! I do not want to see _her_!"

"But, Zuko, why not? I would think that you would be happy to see her. As she would be to see you!"

"Why, Uncle? Why do I want to see her? So that I can see what I _cannot_ have? To see her and then be _torn_ away – again? So I can watch her cry as I leave – again? So we can be ripped apart – _again_?"

"Zuko –"

"I said a _clean break_, Uncle! A clean break. _ I do not want to see her_! I will not see her! Respect my wishes, _please_!" He stomped away, and Iroh, watching him go, shook his head sadly.

* * *

"Don't fuss so, Changda! It's just a dinner with one of Uncle Fai's colleagues." Lan winced as her ladies' maid brushed out her hair.

"Not just his colleague, my lady. His wife and his _son, _as well! His _sixteen _year-old son." Changda began to deftly braid Lan's hair.

"So?"

"So? So – he's looking for a wife! The downstairs maid knows his mother's ladies' maid – and she says he's been looking!"

Lan rolled her eyes. "Who cares? _I'm_ not looking for a husband."

Changda's eyes grew wide. "What? But, my lady! You're almost _fifteen_! You must start soon!"

Lan waited until Changda had finished her braid before shaking her head. "No. I will not. Aunt Ming says that I may marry when and _whom_ I wish. Or not."

"Oh." Changda looked disappointed. She started to twist the braid onto Lan's head. "Does that mean you are not _interested_ in marrying?"

Lan looked at herself in the mirror. There was a gloomy expression in her eyes. "No. I don't think I shall ever marry."

Changda stabbed a kanzashi into Lan's hair, and Lan jumped. "That's sad, my lady. Don't you want children?"

Lan remembered being on Ember Island, after Zuko's agni kai, and the ridiculous idea that she had thought ot – becoming pregnant with Zuko's child, to try to force Ozai into letting them marry. What a ludicrous idea that had been – she could have become pregnant with a dozen of Zuko's children, but Ozai would have connived a way, somehow, to keep her apart from Zuko. Besides, when it came to Zuko making a choice about obeying his father or choosing her, he had obeyed Ozai. A child would only have complicated things, not solved them.

And now she was certain that she would never have children at all.

Lan looked down, away from her sad reflection. "No."

"Oh, my lady! Children are what make life worth living. At least that's what my mam says."

Lan shrugged, and stood. "There are other things to life than marriage and children, Changda. Like –" she stopped. Perhaps she should not talk about this in front of Changda – many of the men and women in service never married at all.

Changda seemed to read her mind. "Oh, you may talk about it, my lady. I don't mind. I _would_ like to get married some day." She dressed Lan in one of her best robes, a lavender-colored one with dark purple at the edges and the ends of the sleeves. Once she was finished, she stepped back. "You look very beautiful, my lady."

Lan smiled. "Thank you, Changda. That's very kind."

"Kind? No, my lady, I'm nothing of the sort! Oh," she blushed, "I didn't mean that. I mean, I _hope_ that I am kind. But I did not say that to be kind! I said it because it's true!"

"Thank you." She accepted a fan from the girl. "If I am presentable, may I go down now?"

"Oh, yes, my lady! Enjoy yourself."

* * *

Lan came down the stairs to find her aunt and uncle's guests already there. The men stood when she entered, and she bowed to them.

Ming smiled. "May I present my niece, Lady Lan Chi Sun? Lan Chi, this is the esteemed judge Xia Guan."

She placed her open palm above her fisted hand in a traditional Fire Nation greeting. "It is my honor to meet you."

He gave a brief inclination of his head, and presented his wife. "This is my wife, Gua, and my son, Mo."

Lan gave them both the same greeting, and they returned it. Their son also gave her a deep bow, and, when he straightened, he had a large smile on his face.

He was a handsome young man, Lan Chi had to admit, with a kind, wide face and twinkling eyes. His hair was black, and drawn up in a top knot, as was usual with young men of the Fire Nation.

"Lan, my dear, there is a spot next to Mo." Ming smiled again.

Lan resisted the desire to roll her eyes. Her aunt was very transparent in her matchmaking attempt, but Lan did as Ming suggested.

As the adults returned to their discussion, Mo tried to engage Lan Chi. "So, Lady Lan Chi, I understand that you have recently moved here from Royal Caldera City."

"Yes. About six months ago."

"Why would anyone want to leave the capital and come here?"

She smiled slightly. "I came to live with Aunt Ming and Uncle Fai."

"Who did you live with before?"

"Another uncle." She was not about to tell him who that was.

"Oh. Did you ever meet the Fire Lord?"

She tried not to grimace. "Once or twice."

"Oh." He was impressed. "Is he as magnificent and intimidating as he seems?"

She thought of the time that Ozai had threatened her and singed her clothing. She could still remember the acrid smell of burned fabric.

"He is _very_ intimidating."

"I saw him once. He's really great."

_Great_, thought Lan. _He's a fan of the Fire Lord_. "Have you ever been to the capital?"

"Oh, yes. My parents took me there last year as a gift for my genbuku."

"That's a very nice present. You're very lucky to have such generous parents."

Mo smiled at his mother and father. "Yeah. I am." Silence fell until he broke it. "That color looks really nice on you." He blushed. "I – I mean, not that I _noticed_ what you look like, or anything. No! I mean, of course I looked at you – no! I'm not _looking_ at you – not like that! Really!" His shoulders slumped. "Your robe is a nice color."

Lan laughed. "It's okay. I understand what you meant."

"I don't know why everyone in the Fire Nation insists on wearing red, or pink, or black."

"Well, I guess it's because flames look red – or I guess they can look pink sometimes."

"If your fire looks pink, you have a problem." He grinned.

"I'm not actually a fire bender, so I don't have any fire at all. Are you a bender?"

"Yeah. But I thought – with your hair – I mean –" he reddened again.

She smiled. "A lot of people think that. Oh, _with her __**red**__ hair, she __**must**__ be a firebender_. But," she shrugged, "no firebending."

"Oh, well, that's okay. It's really beautiful, anyway."

It was Lan's turn to blush. "Thank you."

Just then, the maid came in to announce dinner, and they removed to the dining room. Lan Chi was, of course, seated next to Mo, with Ming Yi on her other side. As Lan settled down on her cushion, she leaned over to her aunt. "It won't work, Aunt Ming."

The woman looked at her with wide-eyed innocence. "I don't know what you're talking about, Lady Lan Chi."

Lan gave her a jaded look. "Mmm-hmmm," she said, and turned to Mo as he seated himself next to her. He smiled at her, and she noted how handsome he really was, with white, straight teeth, and strong features. But that didn't mean she was interested. No – her heart still belonged to Zuko, wherever he was.

* * *

Mo was an entertaining dinner companion. They discussed books and martial arts theory, and horses. Lan told him about her birthday present, and he laughed.

"Ah, so _you're _the only who got the filly!" He looked at Fai with mock resentment. "I wanted to buy her to breed her to my stallion. Their offspring would be _incredible_!"

"Well, she's mine now, and she won't be a mother for quite a while."

He shrugged. "That's okay. I can wait. Hey – do you want to go riding tomorrow? I have a break from my lessons – my teacher is attending a meeting."

"I – I don't know. I have a lot of lessons tomorrow. Every day, actually."

"Lady Ming Yi keeps you busy, eh?"

Lan gave a small smile. "Oh, yes."

"Lady Ming Yi," Mo said, before Lan could stop him, "do you think that you could perhaps excuse Lan Chi from some of her lessons tomorrow? I should like to take her out riding."

Ming smiled at them. "I think that can be arranged. Gua, what do you say we bear them company and take the carriage to the park? We can go during the social hour. Think of how many people we'll see."

Mo's mother agreed, and Mo turned to Lan Chi. "It's a date, then."

* * *

Later that night, after their guests had left, Lan visited Ming Yi while her aunt was in her private dressing room. Upon seeing the look upon her niece's face in the mirror, she dismissed her maid.

Once the door was closed, she turned to face Lan. "I sense that you have come to deal me a _scathing _rebuke."

"Aunt Ming, how _could_ you?"

Ming picked up a tub of hand cream, and dipped her fingers into it. "How could I what?"

"Make a date between me and Mo!"

Her brows raised as she rubbed the cream into her hands. "_I _didn't make the date. You did."

I did not!" She denied hotly.

Ming shrugged insouciantly. "Well, then, _he_ made the date."

"And I didn't want a date!"

"Then why didn't you say anything?"

"I – I didn't want to be _rude_. In front of everyone."

"Well, that was kind of you. But why don't you want to go?"

"Why? You know why!"

Ming gave a long sigh. "Because of Zuko."

"Yes _because of Zuko_! Of course _because of Zuko_! You said that I could wait for him. That you would support me!"

"And I will. But must you make your decision to become an old maid so early? You should go out with Mo. He's a nice boy. You might even like him."

"I do like him."

"A-ha!"

"Not like that! He _is_ a nice boy. And good company. But, Aunt Ming, I'm just not interested in him. I'm not interested in anyone but Zuko."

Ming looked at her for a long while, and knew that, at the moment, arguing with Lan would do no good. The girl was obviously resolute. "Well, just go riding with him. I never said you have to marry him."

Lan looked riled, but she nodded. "Fine. I'll go."

"And you know, _should_ you decide to marry him –"

"Aunt Ming!"

The other woman held up her hands in supplication. "I will not suggest it again. I just wanted to put the idea in your head."

"Well, get out of my head!"

Ming smiled. "Crowded in there, is it?"

* * *

Lan anxiously tapped her riding crop against her leg as she waited for Mo and his mother to arrive.

"Do sit down, Lan Chi. You're making _me _nervous." Her aunt was idly working on an embroidered pillow. "What _is_ your problem, anyway?"

"I – I am worried that he'll get the _wrong idea_ about me."

"And what idea is that?"

"That – that I _like_ him."

"I thought that you do like him."

"I do! Just not like _that_! I like him as a friend – not a _boyfriend_."

"Well, just don't send him any signals that he can misinterpret."

She frowned. "Like what?"

"Like what?" She thought on it. "Don't laugh at all his jokes."

"Some of his jokes are funny, though."

"Oh? He's witty? That's a plus."

"Aunt Ming..." Her voice was warning.

"Fine. Let's see what else you _shouldn't _do. Don't touch him."

She looked scandalized. "I wasn't planning to!"

"I mean don't touch his arm in passing. Or his thigh."

"Why would I touch his _thigh_?"

"It's just something that people do – when they are attracted to one another. Don't tell me you never _wanted_ to touch Zuko's thigh."

"Aunt Ming!"

She gave Lan a knowing look. "Give over, Lady Lan Chi. Your uncle told me how you and Zuko were all hands."

Lan flushed red, in both embarrassment and anger. "Uncle Iroh has a big mouth."

"Yes, he does. And I understand about you and Zuko – I assure you that I do. I was young once, too."

"You and Uncle Fai were like that?"

"You sound as if you cannot believe it of us."

"Of you, yes. Of Uncle Fai?" She could not picture her staid and conservative uncle losing his head over anything.

"Well, _he _was young once, too."

Lan shuddered. "I just won't think about it."

Ming was miffed. "Fine. But perhaps you _should_ think of it when you're with Mo. That might cool your ardor."

Lan threw her hands up. "For spirits' sake, Aunt Ming! I don't have any ardor for Mo."

"That's too bad. He's a nice boy." The doorbell rang, and Lan started. "And it seems as if he is on time."

They waited until the butler introduced Mo and his mother. Mo was dressed in a dashing uniform designed for riding, and his mother was in a day robe, suitable for a placid carriage ride.

Mo's eyes fell upon Lan Chi, and they lit up appreciatively. He gave a wide smile, and bowed deeply. "Lady Lan Chi, you look exquisite," he said when he straightened.

She smiled, but her smile was reserved. "Thank you."

"Shall we go?" He held out his arm gallantly, and she reluctantly slipped her arm through his. She saw her aunt arch an intrigued brow, but she ignored it.

They walked to the stables in the rear, where Mo's horse and carriage were, and where Jiaonen, Lan's ostrich-horse, stood impatiently, waiting to be off.

Mo reached up and stroked the bird's head, and the animal gave a pleased cooing sound. The boy grinned at Lan. "She likes me."

Lan was annoyed. Stupid, undiscerning bird!

Mo held his hand out to assist Lan to mount, but she shook her head. "The groom always helps me mount. It's his job, you see."

Mo blushed, but stepped back, and the groom assisted Lan Chi into the saddle. She waited until Mo alighted upon his horse, and they were off, the carriage bringing up the rear behind him.

The ride was rather uncomfortable. Thanks to Ming Yi's cautionary advice, Lan was on tenterhooks throughout the entire journey. She did not want to give the young man any wrong ideas that she was interested. As a result, she was reserved and quiet, and Mo, who had been introduced to a vibrant Lan Chi the night before, was confused when she answered his questions with monosyllabic answers or merely with shrugs or nods.

At the end of the ride, when he returned her home, he bowed low over her hand and kissed it, which startled Lan, and she pulled her hand away.

He gave a half-smile. "If you ever decide that you would like to be the real Lan Chi again – the one I met last night, let me know. I rather liked her."

* * *

"Nothing. I'm so sick of finding nothing." Zuko sat back with a groan. It was nighttime, and he was in his study, stacks of unscrolled parchments and books surrounding him. His uncle, upon Zuko's banishment, had brought with them most of the contents of his own vast library, and Zuko had been methodically going through them, searching for clues on the avatar's whereabouts. He had gone through atlases, maps, and histories on the war, all from Iroh's collection, as well as old diaries and army reports that he had come across in their travels. And, still, he had found nothing. Nothing to indicate where the avatar might be. No word even on which of the four temples had been his home. Nothing.

Zuko heard raucous laughter come up from the deck through the large windows of the study, and, with a deep sigh, he allowed his head to roll back on his neck. Even if there was something to be found in all these scrolls and books, he would be unable to concentrate, thanks to the noise from below.

He walked over to the windows and looked down. His uncle, along with Jee and more than a half dozen other men, were gathered in a circle, laughing, and – playing musical instruments? He heard the distinctive sounds of the liuqin, and rubbed his eyes. Jee was playing a liuqin? He considered calling out to them, but realized that, over the conversation, laughter, and music, he would likely not be heard. With a grunt of annoyance, he pushed from the window, strode out the door, and took the stairs down to the deck at a run.

He burst through the doors to the deck, and, walked, ramrod stiff, to the group. "Uncle! What is this cacophony?"

Iroh turned to him, cheeks ruddy. "Ah, Prince Zuko! So glad you came down for music night. Sit! Sit!"

"_Music night_? We have a _music night_?"

"Ah, well, Lieutenant Jee found a liuqin in the last port!" He tapped the man on his arm. "It turns out that he has been playing since he was a child! Wasn't that lucky?"

Zuko crossed his arms. "Oh, yes. _Very _lucky." He said dryly.

"Sit! Sit!" He repeated and patted an empty crate next to him.

Zuko shook his head. "Absolutely not. I have as much desire to attend _music night_ as I have to attend my own hanging. Besides, I want to – aggh!" He did not finish because Iroh had tugged him down by the wrist.

"Just a little while, Prince Zuko." Someone handed him a bottle, and he looked at it. It was rotgut.

"Uh, no, thanks." He passed it back.

"I was just telling the men how talented you are with the tsungi horn."

"Uncle," Zuko sighed, "I haven't played the tsungi horn in years."

"Perhaps we can pick one up in a market."

"Even if you do, I _won't_ play it!"

"But you're so talented!"

Zuko frowned at him. "You're drunk! How much of this did you have?"

Iroh held up his fingers horizontally, about two inches apart. "This much." He widened his fingers. "Or perhaps this much."

"Uncle." Zuko gave an exasperated sigh.

Jee had begun strumming on the liuqin, and Iroh's face lit up. "Oh, Jee! This is one of my favorites!" He launched into a old Fire Nation drinking song that featured a lusty barmaid and large barrels, and Zuko blushed. The rotgut found its way into Zuko's hand again, and he looked at it for a long time before he shrugged and tipped the bottle to his lips. It burned its way down his throat, and he felt it pool in his chest in a peculiar but not unpleasant way.

Iroh finished his song and there was enthusiastic clapping and hooting. Iroh, pleased, bowed from the waist. "Thank you, thank you." He looked around at his audience, and, lighting on the engineer, he grabbed the man's shirt and pulled him closer. "Prince Zuko, Cho got a new tattoo when we were in port. Show it to him, Cho!"

The man dutifully pulled open his shirt at the neck to expose a multi-colored tattoo of a woman with her large breasts in either hand. Zuko looked at it in horror.

"Perhaps you should get a tattoo, your highness." This came from Jee, who was still quietly playing his instrument.

Zuko drew himself up proudly. "I am a member of the Fire Nation royal family. My body is _sacred_, and I will not allow it to be _violated_."

"Is that why you've never had a girl?" A voice came from somewhere within the circle.

The rest of the men dissolved in laughter, and Zuko colored. "Who said that?" His hands curled into fists as he glared at his men. "I'll have your head, you insolent half-wits!"

Iroh placed a hand on his forearm and leaned into Zuko, breath hot with liquor. "Nephew, pay no mind. They are just having a little fun."

"Fun? _This_ is fun? Insulting my manhood?"

"They are not insulting you so much as _gently teasing_ you." He considered that for a minute. "Well, perhaps it was a _bit_ insulting." He smiled at his nephew. "Still, it only means they are comfortable enough to joke with you."

"I don't want them to be comfortable." He hissed. "I want them to do their jobs! That's all."

"They do their jobs – this is just a way for them to blow off steam. So to speak."

Zuko sat sullenly while the conversation around him devolved from tattoos to women, with many of the men boasting about their past conquests. Zuko, who had never really heard talk of that, or _like_ that, was half-stunned and half-intrigued by their stories. He had, of course, never had any experience at all outside of his time with Lan Chi, and spirits knew that he had never even touched her breasts or seen her unclothed, so the topic of the men's conversation was all completely foreign to him. Still, as they were describing their experiences with women, Zuko could picture some of it in his mind, with he himself and Lan Chi, and he found himself growing uncomfortable. He crossed and uncrossed his legs several times, and his uncle noticed his squirming.

"Prince Zuko, is something wrong?"

His mind miles away, he turned to his uncle in a daze. "I"m sorry. What?"

"I asked if something was wrong."

"What? Oh, no. No. Not at all. Just – thinking."

"Oh. I see." Iroh nodded wisely. "I _think_ I know what _you_ were thinking of."

Zuko's entire head turned as red as a fire lily. "I do not believe that you do, Uncle."

"Of course I do! I was young once, too, you know."

Zuko did not know what to say to that. The images conjured in his mind were – disturbing, at best. "Uncle, please – that is not something I even want to _imagine_!"

Iroh looked at him for a long moment, and laughed.

* * *

**Author's Note**: This is a retooling of my original chapter eight, and I have had to do that a lot lately, because, at the rate that I was moving the narrative, Zuko and Lan would not have met again until chapter 30! I have remedied that, though, I promise!

I hope that you are enjoying the story so far – I am having fun writing it!


	9. Chapter 9

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN _NICKELODEON'S AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER_ OR ITS CHARACTERS. I just dust the artifacts in the Avatar Kyoshi shrine.**

* * *

Iroh came onto the deck, scratching his abdomen. The weak, late autumnal sun had barely begun peeking its head above the horizon but Prince Zuko was already on deck, practicing his swordsmanship, his blades flashing in the self-same sun.

Ever since leaving the Southern Air Temple a few days before, Zuko had changed. He had been quieter, and, when he did speak, his words were terse and impatient. There were fewer smiles, and every word, it seemed, was a question about their plans and their routes, or a comment about the same.

The Southern Air Temple had been the catalyst to this change. Zuko, who had seen it as the last good chance to find the avatar, had pinned all his hopes on it. However, before their group had even had a chance to explore the temple, Zuko had turned back.

They had approached the temple from the south, where a stone bridge allowed access to the buildings. However, as they had done at the other temples, they had investigated the exterior grounds first. They went to the playing pitches and disused barns, where they found the skeletons of enormous air bison and the small bones of what Zuko guessed were probably lemurs.

A large grassy field at the base of one of the bridges was where they made the discovery that Zuko had dreaded.

"He's not here." Zuko's voice was devoid of emotion.

"Why do you say that, Prince Zuko? We have not even searched." Iroh was surprised.

"Look around, Uncle. What do you see?"

Iroh did as Zuko suggested. A great battle had raged here, and its victims were still scattered about. "Bones."

Zuko walked over to a jumbled pile that looked to be several skeletons. "Bones." he echoed. "Tell me, Uncle," he looked at Iroh, "if that old man at the Eastern Air Temple refused to allow the bones of his friends to lie bleached in the sun, do you really think that the avatar would?"

Iroh sighed now at the memory, and watched Zuko as the young man went through a very complicated swords form, his blades whistling through the air. He had removed all his armor and his shirt, and, in the sunlight, weak as it was, Iroh could see that he was sweating.

He watched his nephew for several minutes, until the form was completed. "Very nice, Prince Zuko."

Zuko was silent, not acknowledging his uncle's presence or the compliment. He launched into another form, and Iroh sighed again and left him alone, as he wished to be.

* * *

Zuko had never seen snow falling. Of course, he had seen snow on the ground at the Northern Air Temple, and at the Southern, but he had never seen it coming down. It did not snow in the Fire Nation, after all.

But it snowed in the Earth Kingdom, and, in some mountainous and northern regions, it snowed quite heavily, as Zuko, Iroh, and their men were discovering. They had come into the mountains from one of the smaller colonies, Xiao Difang, because of a local legend that there was a _man of the sky_ who lived in the highest mountains, next to a river that flowed endlessly from a snow field.

On a map procured from the local garrison, Zuko, Iroh, and Jee had narrowed their search, and had concluded that a glacier-fed river existed on the second highest mountain in the region, called Hanleng Di.

"Are you sure it is wise to go into the mountains in the winter, Prince Zuko?" The shortest day of the year had been less than a month before.

Zuko watched as the rhinos and Xuan were led off the ship. "Have we a choice, Uncle? We're here, now. Not in the summer."

"We can return in the summer. I am certain that the mountains are beautiful at that time of year, with wildflowers and birds, and –"

Zuko interrupted him. "We are not here for a nature hike – or to see the sights! We are here to capture the avatar! Nothing else matters!" The railing beneath his clenched hands glowed red.

"But, Zuko, it is bound to be _quite_ cold in the mountains at this time of year."

Zuko released his grip and started down the gangplank, his uncle following. "We're _firebenders_, Uncle. We can keep warm."

"Our bending is at its weakest right now, Zuko. You _know _that."

"It will be _fine_, Uncle." He took the reins of his horse from the soldier holding them. "We have thick coats, tents, blankets, and," he pointed to a heavily-laden rhino, "we have a pack-rhino to carry plenty of food. It will be fine."

Four days of traveling through increasingly colder and worsening weather had started to change Zuko's mind, but, stubborn and proud, he refused to either admit his mistake or turn back.

The men had been grumbling since the journey had begun, but, between Zuko, Iroh, and Jee, they had suppressed the men's more vocal complaints.

The days were rough on everyone, man and beast alike, trudging through knee-high snow. Xuan refused to move frequently, until Zuko had begun wrapped the bird's claws in blankets. The rhinos, luckily, with their thick hides, seemed to mind the cold not at all, but they consumed vast quantities of the hay that they were carrying, until the supplies were very low. In fact, in order to provide the animals with adequate fodder, the men took to melting snow to reveal sodden, flattened grasses. The rhinos, however, were ill-equipped to eat in this manner, and, as a result, more time was spent grazing than even traveling.

Iroh was miserable, and spent most of the time hunched over the head of his rhino, blowing fire at his frozen hands, while Jee and the other firebenders were forced to clear the deeper snow in their paths by melting it with fire, shot from their fists.

Nights were even worse, however. All of the animals were hobbled and crowded together, with Xuan in the middle, and, although the bird was kept warm this way, it was potentially dangerous for the animal, since the rhinos outweighed the horse by at least five to one, and Xuan could easily be trampled.

The men were forced to double up in tents to conserve warmth, and Zuko found himself, of course, pressed up against Iroh who, Zuko was forced to acknowledge, did emit quite a bit of heat.

On the afternoon of the fourth day, as the sun was starting its journey towards the horizon, a snowstorm began. It began, as many do, with gentle flakes that floated down, settling on the skin and lashes and head.

Zuko held out his hands, marveling at each perfect, tiny, puffy flake as it drifted down. He watched in fascination as each flake melted on him, and, he noted that, if he brought up his body temperature just a bit, the flakes melted on contact.

A rare smile came to his face. "It's beautiful, Uncle." He turned to Iroh, but the old man did not share his enthusiasm. The younger man dropped his hands, the smile disappearing. "What is it?"

Iroh drew his rhino's head up, halting it. "We must find shelter for the night."

Zuko did not understand. "But we have tents, Uncle."

Iroh shook his head. "No, Prince Zuko. We need to find something that can shield us from the snow. We cannot sleep in the snow if it continues to fall. It may bury us."

The men turned to each other, fear on their faces, and then looked to Zuko.

Zuko stared back at them, wide-eyed beneath his helmet, and looked to his uncle, but Iroh's face was impassive. "_You _are our leader, Prince Zuko." He said soberly.

Zuko looked down at his legs, encased in snow, his mind working. Uncle was right. _He_, Zuko, was their leader. He took a deep breath. "Chen." He pointed to one of the smaller, younger men. "Climb that tree," he pointed to a tall evergreen, "as high as you can. Maybe you will be able to see something from up there."

"What, your highness?" Chen asked, although he was already obeying, slogging through the snow.

"A cave, perhaps, or a house, or – or _something_."

"Yes, Sir." He began shimmying up the trunk, using the branches as handholds and footholds.

Zuko turned to the others. "Men, fan out and find the most sheltered spot you can – in case we're forced to camp outside." He turned to the horsemaster. "Gather all the animals together to keep warm." He handed his animal's reins to the man. "And make certain that Xuan remains protected."

"Yes, your highness."

"Highness!" Chen had reached a high branch. "I think that I see some smoke!"

Zuko and Iroh traded glances, and Iroh silently removed a spyglass from his belt and handed it to his nephew.

"Chen," Zuko called out, "have you a rope?"

"Yes, your highness!"

"Pass the end down."

He did as Zuko ordered, and Zuko tied the spyglass to the rope. Chen pulled the rope back, hand over hand, and grabbed the spyglass.

The snow was falling more thickly about them, now, and Zuko's anxiety level was beginning to rise.

"Highness! It's a village! I see a village!"

"Where? How far?"

"To the north! Maybe five miles."

"You're certain it's a village?"

"Yes, your highness! I see the houses, plain as day. With smoke coming from chimneys."

"Come down, Chen!" Zuko nodded at his uncle. "We can do this, Uncle."

"Yes, Prince Zuko."

He called for the men, and, once they were assembled, told them briefly what Chen had seen.

"We're going to make for that village, men, and seek shelter there. We'll walk and lead the animals. We will hopefully be there in a few hours." He took Xuan's reins back and looked up to the sky. The snow was even thicker now.

"We can do it." He whispered. "We _must_."

* * *

They walked for nearly four hours, trudging through the deepening drifts, stopping only to allow Chen to climb trees to monitor their progress towards the village.

The snow was falling intensely now, and Zuko worried that, if they did not reach their destination soon, they might not reach their destination at all. Dark was starting to fall, which would complicate their trek tenfold. They were all getting tired, starting to drag and stumble in the deep snow, and the animals were getting harder and harder to urge along.

Zuko stole a look at Iroh, who was walking, head down against the wind, bundled in a long coat, looking as wretched as Zuko felt.

Zuko, in fact, had never been so cold in his entire life. His hands inside his gloves were icy, his feet inside his boots were numb, and his posterior felt frozen. Nothing felt normal and warm. His teeth were chattering, and the breath that left his body felt barely warmer than the outside air. He tried repeatedly to bring his body temperature up, but he was so cold that, each time he tried, it only succeeded in making him feel more tired. He was starting to feel sleepy, as well, and it became an effort to move each leg forward. His lips, cracked and chapped, ached, and tears stung his eyes. He slipped several times and fell face forward into the snow, which made him colder and wetter, and he wanted nothing more than to allow the darkness that danced at the edge of his consciousness to take him.

But he dared not. He knew that the sleepiness was a manifestation of hypothermia, and he knew that to stop would mean death. He would not die on the side of some accursed mountain in the Earth Kingdom, banished from his homeland. He would die a very old man, in the palace, in the Fire Lord's bed, surrounded by those who loved him.

_Well, no one loves you._ The voice that dogged him at his lowest point was there, as it always was, ready to claim him.

He pushed the self-doubt away. He would not surrender to it. He would not surrender to the cold. And he would not allow anyone else to surrender, either.

He stopped and drew himself upright to address his men. "Chen! Climb that tree and see where we are! Men! Gather together – hold each other up, keep each other warm. Draw your rhinos close to you!"

They did as he said, and Zuko came close as well, and allowed his poor, half-frozen ostrich-horse to shelter next to one of the rhinos.

After several minutes, Chen called to them, although it was difficult to hear him above the wind that was howling through the trees. "I see it! It's very close!"

"How far?" Zuko shouted back through the dark.

"Less than half mile, it looks like!"

Zuko gave a deep sigh. _Soon._

"Come on, men! We're almost there!"

The last half mile took over an hour, and several times Zuko wondered if he would make it. He also wondered if Xuan would make it, as well. The bird, which had slowed and even stopped several times, causing Zuko to fall behind the others, now refused to move at all, and was settling itself into the snow.

"No, no, Xuan. Up." Zuko stroked the tired, cold bird's head. "Come on up, boy. We're almost there. Come on." He tugged on the animal's reins, but the horse would not budge. "Oh, come on, Xuan. _Please_. Please don't stop."

The horse's head lowered, and it tried to tuck it beneath its wing. Zuko put his arms around his mount, and pressed his face against the bird's snowy feathers. He couldn't lose him. He couldn't lose his beautiful, beautiful horse. If he did, it would be all his own fault. All his own, stupid, stubborn fault.

Iroh walked up beside his nephew, and laid his head on his shoulder. "Zuko, let me."

Zuko turned to his uncle in a rage, his face suspiciously wet. "No! Get away! He'll be all right! I'll get him up! You won't kill him! I won't let you!"

Iroh smiled and shook his head. "Watch." He walked behind the bird, put his hands down near the animal's hind feathers, and allowed his fingers to burst into flame. Startled, the animal lurched to its feet and surged forward.

Zuko looked at the animal with joy, and staggered after him, Iroh following.

Little more than fifteen minutes later, Zuko heard shouts from in front of him. "Your highness! There are lights! We're here!"

_Finally_! Zuko pulled Xuan closer and ran his hand down the bird's neck. They were saved!

Zuko stumbled into Jee, who had come back for him. "Are the men all accounted for?"

"Yes, your highness."

"Good. My uncle is behind me. Help him." Zuko gestured behind him.

Zuko soon came upon the rest of the men, and he saw that there was, indeed, a small village nestled in the snow.

It was no more than half a dozen buildings grouped together, but, to Zuko, even the Fire Nation palace wouldn't have looked so welcoming to him.

He sent a quick prayer of thanks up to the spirits as his uncled stumbled up to him. "Uncle, are you all right?"

"Cold, Zuko, but otherwise all right, I believe. How are the men?"

Zuko turned to look at his crew. "They're all accounted for, Uncle."

"Good. Now let's find somewhere out of this snow." Although the snow had tapered off, the temperature was continuing to drop. "Let's try this first house."

A man responded to their knock, but, upon seeing that there were firebenders at his door, he tried to close them out. Zuko, though, despite his reflexes being slowed by the cold, put his hand on the door to stop it.

"Please, Sir," Iroh spoke up. "We need a place to sleep for the night."

"Any place." Zuko added.

"We've no room!" He tried to force the door, but Zuko leaned on it, desperation giving him added strength.

"It's too cold to remain outdoors!"

"You're firebenders! Warm _yourselves_! Or better yet, _freeze_!" He pushed with all his might against the door, and it slowly began to close.

"We – we can give you money!" Zuko was starting to feel panic.

"We don't want your money!"

A woman's voice came from behind him. "We do!" She pulled the door out of her husband's hand and looked Zuko and Iroh over. "How many of you are there?"

"Seven. And our animals. Have you a barn?"

She looked at them suspiciously. "Round the back. How much are you willing to pay?"

"Five gold pieces." This came from Iroh.

"Fifty." She countered.

"Ten."

"Thirty-five."

"Twenty-five."

"Deal." She held out her hand, and Iroh nudged Zuko.

"Pay the woman."

Zuko brought out his money pouch with frozen, fumbling fingers, and counted out twenty-five gold pieces into the woman's hands.

She snatched her hands away as soon as the last coin dropped in. "You can all sleep there. Warmest place for you tonight. But no fires." She closed the door in their faces.

They all trudged around to the back of the property, pulling their animals behind them. Zuko and Jee pushed open the barn doors, and they all filed in.

It was warm – the woman had not lied. The animals within, several ostrich-horses, as well rooster-pigs and koala-sheep, shuffled in anxiety when the rhinos were led in, but once the huge animals were settled with a quick rubdown and some hay, all seemed to quiet down.

Zuko tended to Xuan himself, wiping the bird down with one of his own dry blankets and heating his hands to massage the animal and dry its feathers. Within an hour, the horse was warm and clucking happily over the hay that the barn provided.

Iroh had taken his time to dry himself and make tea, which he offered to the other men cup after cup, as they all sought ways to warm themselves. Since they were forbidden to make a fire, he had to heat the pot in his hands, but it was a simple enough task, and one that allowed him to warm himself, too.

The men, once their rhinos were seen to, all collapsed in various stages of exhaustion, and many fell asleep easily among the soft piles of hay,

Once Zuko had attended to Xuan, he, too, wearily sank down, next to Iroh. He gratefully accepted the tea his uncle offered, and allowed the hot liquid to curl through his tired, cold muscles.

"Uncle," Zuko looked down into his tea cup, "I'm sorry."

"For what, Prince Zuko?"

"For not listening to you when you counseled me against coming up here. I – I should have listened to you. I almost got us all killed."

Iroh smiled slightly. "But you did not. You led us here. You found us shelter."

"Had I not been so _bull-headed_, we would not have needed shelter."

Iroh laid his hand on his nephew's shoulder in a gesture of comfort. "We all make mistakes, Zuko. It is how we _correct _them that shows our wisdom."

Zuko snorted. "I showed very little wisdom."

Iroh squeezed his shoulder. "You are too hard on yourself. We all survived. Even," he pointed at Xuan, "your beautiful bird."

"No thanks to me. But it won't happen again. Tomorrow, when it is daylight, we're going back to the ship."

"But what about the avatar?"

Zuko shook his head slowly. "The mountain can keep the avatar, if he is here. For now. We can come back in the summer." His eyes slid to his uncle. "I hear the wildflowers are beautiful at that time of year."

Iroh's smile widened. "Good idea, Prince Zuko." He finished his own tea. "You should get some rest. You deserve it."

Zuko nodded, and curled up in the hay near his uncle, and, when he slept, it was deep and dreamless, as he wished it to be.

* * *

The next morning, as Zuko had hoped, the snow stopped, and they began their trek back down the mountain, urged by the homeowners, who wanted the Fire Nation out of their barn, and out of their village.

The journey down was, expectedly, much easier than the climb, and they finished it in half the time, despite the fact that the snow was now deeper.

Zuko had never been happier to see his ship upon their arrival back in Xiao Difang, and he gave the order to set sail immediately for warmer climates.

He watched the port of Xiao Difang recede in the distance from the enclosed bridge, which was warm and dry. His uncle came up behind him.

"Have you recovered from our journey so soon, Prince Zuko, that we are setting sail?"

Zuko's brow rose. "For the most part. And once we are out of port and on the open seas, all the firebenders are off-duty for a day." He indicated his lieutenant over his shoulder. "Including Jee."

"And what of _you_, Zuko? Are you suffering any ill-effects from our adventure?"

"I would hardly call it an adventure. More like a near-death experience."

"You are not answering my question."

Zuko flexed his fingers. "My hands still do not feel warm, yet. And my lips," he touched them, still dry and cracked, "are on fire."

Iroh chuckled. "And not in a good way."

"No."

"Fish oil will help them. I have some in my room. I will send it to your cabin."

"Thank you, Uncle."

There was a companionable silence.

"Lieutenant Jee tells me that we are heading south." Iroh tried to sound nonchalant.

Zuko clasped his hands behind his back. "Yes. I gave the order."

"I thought that you wanted to circumnavigate the globe again, Prince Zuko."

Zuko was long in responding. "I need to be smarter, Uncle. In winter, it is too easy for the avatar to hide. Too many inaccessible villages and caves and hiding places. Too many places we cannot go. So, when it it winter in the north, we will go south. When it is winter in the south, we shall go north." He looked at his uncle. "There will be nowhere for the avatar to hide."

* * *

Author's Note: I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. This fic has given me a bit of trouble, because Lan Chi has a LOT to do before she meets Zuko again, and the order in which she does them all has been dogging me. However, thanks to a little organization, I think I have it figured out! Look forward to A LOT more Lan, and a little less Zuko as she strives to become the woman she is meant to be. Zuko, as we know, gets his character development a little later on in life...


	10. Chapter 10

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN _NICKELODEON'S AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER_ OR ITS CHARACTERS. I just pit all of the fruit for Azula's coronation...**

* * *

Lan Chi entered the foyer from a morning ride to find that chaos had spilled all over the house. She heard it coming from the dining room, and saw it wash into the front room, where she stood, now frozen.

"This is insupportable. Absolutely insupportable!" This came from Uncle Fai – unflappable Uncle Fai, with notes of hysteria in his voice.

"Don't panic. Are you certain that he cannot write?" Reassurance came from Ming Yi, and Lan blinked.

Fai's fingers went into his hair. "Cannot write? He has broken _both _wrists! Of course he cannot write!"

"Well, you must get a substitute." Ming's voice held an unassailable confidence.

Fai turned to her, incredulous. "A substitute? We leave in _three_ hours! The ship sails with the tide!"

"Can't you do without him?" A simple question came from Ming. Ming's questions were _never_ simple. What was going on here?

"Do without a scribe? Shall I have the transcripts write themselves, then?" He opened his arms wide.

Ming Yi thought for a moment, then gave an emphatic nod. "I shall have to go. I will do it."

He threw up his hands. "Spirits forbid! You cannot be silent long enough to write anything!"

"_Well_!" His wife crossed her arms over her chest indignantly.

Lan thought it prudent to break in at this point. "Aunt Ming? Is anything amiss?"

They turned together to look at her.

"Amiss?" Fai rotated to his wife. "She asks if anything is amiss?" He turned back to his niece. "My scribe has fallen from his horse on his way _here_, and he cannot accompany me on progress."

_Progress_, as Lan Chi had long since learned, was the term given to the judicial circuits that Fai conducted several times a year throughout the southern Fire Nation colonies.

"Your scribe? The one who copies your decisions?"

"And precedents." Ming sighed.

"Oh." Lan raised her hand to her mouth. "That's bad, isn't it?"

Fai looked at her dryly. "Just a bit. I am supposed to make decisions, and someone is supposed to _transcribe_ them."

"Hence the title _scribe_," Ming supplied helpfully.

"But without my scribe, there is no record."

Ming's index fingernail was in her mouth. _This _was serious. "And no precedent is set."

This was serious, indeed. Fai's entire job was to travel around the colonies and rule on matters of Fire Nation law, with his decisions becoming the basis by which lower court judges ruled. But, without a scribe to take notes and keep records, Fai might as well _not_ go.

"Can't you do it yourself?" Lan asked reasonably.

"Make the rulings and write the briefs?"

Lan exhaled. "I suppose not. And you need someone within the next three hours, because you are leaving by ship."

Fai and Ming looked at her in surprise.

She looked back at them defensively. "I listened!"

"I suppose you could not help but hear." Fai smoothed back his hair. "I suppose that I shall have to cancel." he compressed his lips. "This is the first time I have visited this region in over two years. There is a backlog of cases as long as my arm." He sighed and sank down onto the sofa.

Lan looked between Fai and Ming, both of whom had become dear to her. Worry etched their faces. Fai's position was an appointed one, and, should he be unable to perform his duties, it was very possible he could lose his position entirely.

"I'll go." She said it decisively, and, again, both heads swiveled to her simultaneously. "I – I can do it. I can read, and – write, of course, and I am educated – well-educated, I should say. And I am a quick study. I know history – very well – and that must count for something. _And_, I've lived with Uncle Fai for almost a year." She gave a firm nod. "I can do it."

Fai and Ming turned to look at one another.

Ming was the first to speak. "I suppose beggars cannot be choosers."

"I won't take that personally." Lan's voice was wry.

"All right." Fai stood. "Be ready within the hour."

* * *

Lan supposed that she would someday get used to packing all of her belongings in a short amount of time. Spirits knew that she was becoming experienced enough at it.

Of course, when she suggested accompanying Fai on his business trip, she had no idea that she was packing for a journey of two months. She had never known him to be gone longer than three weeks. This progress, however, was to the farthest boundary of his authority – those colonies that could almost be considered in enemy territory. Because of the distance, he traditionally only traveled there once every few years. However, because of the length of time between visits, each journey to this area took on more importance. One missed progress meant that there might be no high-court adjudication there for perhaps five or more years.

And to complicate things even more, Changda would need to accompany Lan. It would not do, Ming had insisted, for Lan Chi to travel without her ladies' maid. Lan would definitely need assistance with dressing, since she was to dress formally for all the hearings – sparring clothes, which Lan had suggested as an easy alternative, would not do. Indeed, Ming had given a little shriek when she had heard this. No, no, no! Lan Chi could _not _travel around the Earth Kingdom in sparring clothes! What would people think of Fai, employing a hoyden?

So, Changda, whether she wanted to or not, found herself rushed into the carriage for a hurried trip to the port.

"Now make certain that you keep ink off your robes. It won't do for you to wear more and more ink through each successive session," Ming, who was accompanying them to the ship, admonished Lan.

"Yes, Aunt Ming," Lan Chi smiled. "Don't worry."

She looked surprised. "I'm not worried. Oh, I wanted to tell you that I will take care of all of your lessons."

"Will you be playing the liuqin while I'm gone?"

"Ha, ha. Very funny. No, I will let all of your masters know that you will be gone for a while."

"Two months is _not _a while. It's quite a bit more."

"Are you regretting your generous impulse?" Ming teased, looking at her husband, who was bent over a sheath of papers.

"No, not at all. I am going where I am needed."

"Well, aren't you altruistic?" Her aunt smiled kindly.

"I _am_ trying to be." There was no rancor in her voice.

"Do you have everything that you need?"

"I think so."

"I sent a messenger ahead to the ship to procure you a cabin."

"Thank you. That will be preferable to sleeping in the hold."

"Infinitely. There should be a bed in the room for Changda." She smiled at the maid, who gave her a weak smile in return. "Don't worry, Changda," Ming patted the maid's leg. "I've sent a note telling your family where you've gone."

"Thank you, my lady." Changda smiled again.

Ming turned back to Lan. "I assume you have your bow and arrows?"

"You _do_ know me." Lan smiled widely.

"Hopefully you will not need them."

"I actually do not anticipate using them in defense."

"That is good." She turned to Fai. "Did you pack the law books so that Lan can study up while you're on the ship?"

"I did." He laid a hand on her knee. "Everything will be fine, Ming."

"I know. I'll miss you both, though. The house will seem so quiet." Although her words seemed sincere, Fai thought he detected a gleam in her eyes.

"You're going to redecorate while we're gone, aren't you?" He asked knowingly.

Ming feigned innocence. "I don't know what you are talking about."

"Ming Yi Liang!" Lan's voice was tinged with accusation. "We're not even gone yet and you're already planning what you're going to do while we're away!"

A slight redness came to her cheeks. "I may be – perhaps – _thinking _of updating some things in the house. Just a few things. A table or two."

Lan gave her a skeptical look. "Please don't get rid of everything I own."

"Perhaps just the vanity. And the bureau." At Lan's alarmed look, she waved her hands. "Don't worry! I'll replace them."

Lan's smiled was equal parts fondness and exasperation. "You are one of a kind, Aunt Ming." She squeezed her aunt's hand.

"So are you, my dear." Ming put her own hand over Lan Chi's. "I'll miss you while you're gone."

"Me, too, Aunt Ming. Me, too."

* * *

After a slightly tearful good-bye, Lan watched from the deck as Ming sprang back into the carriage and ordered the coachmen off.

Fai's hand landed heavily on Lan's shoulder. "She's driving off to go shopping. I'm sure of it."

Lan laughed. "Do you really think so?"

"I've been married to that woman for nearly thirty years – I'm absolutely certain." He patted her shoulder. "Don't worry about her."

Lan nodded as Fai left her, although she felt a twinge of sadness at being separated from her aunt. Over the past months living with her, Lan had become very fond of the strong-willed, opinionated Ming Yi. She was frequently obstinate, and often aggravating, but she was always true, and always seemed to have Lan Chi's best interests at heart.

Lan mentally shrugged off her melancholy – their separation was not forever, after all. She left the deck to return to her cabin, where she found Changda putting away her things. Her maid had put a pile of books next to Lan's bed, and Lan sighed deeply. Her homework.

She sat down on the bed and picked up the first book. The title stared back at her. _Fire Nation and Local Law in the Eastern and Southern Fire Nation Colonies in the Earth Kingdom: General Analysis and Four Case Studies on Laws of Succession, Guardianship and Marriage. _

"Wow. Light reading."

"What's that, my lady?"

Lan shook her head. "Nothing, Changda. Just going over my reading list." Her eyes rounded as she opened the book and looked at the title page. "Fun."

After a few hours of skimming several weighty tomes, Lan had a raging headache and dry eyes, and she decided that was enough studying. She tossed the book aside with a thud and stood, stretching her tired and aching muscles. She walked over to her stateroom window and looked out at the ocean rushing by. She had ignored their departure in order to start on her reading, but, now, with the fresh, salty air blowing into her face, she felt a desire to go above decks.

She had dismissed Changda hours before to go explore the ship, which the girl had eagerly accepted. Uncle Fai, she assumed, was in his own stateroom reading briefs for the upcoming cases, so she decided not to bother him.

The deck was fairly uncrowded – since most of the passengers that the ship catered to were Fie Nation, there were many people suffering from seasickness – in the privacy of their own cabins, no doubt.

Lan found Changda at the railing , looking out over the ocean. Lan came up beside her. "Enjoying the view?"

Changda jumped a few inches. "Oh, my lady." She bobbed a quick bow. "I did not hear you come up behind me! I was just –"

Lan waved a languid hand. "You can do whatever you like, Changda. I wasn't going to chastise you. I am just glad to see you aren't sick to your stomach."

She shook her head. "Oh, no, my lady. Earth Kingdom doesn't suffer from that like Fire Nation does. Some of us get it – sure – but that depends on the person, not their ancestry."

Lan smiled. "Good to hear."

"But you don't have it, my lady!"

Lan shrugged, and looked out over the water. "I don't get seasick. I'm half Water Tribe, you know." She smiled sadly. "A gift from my mother, I suppose." She touched her braid. "Like my hair."

"We always wondered."

"We?"

Changda reddened." Oh, my lady! I – I didn't mean that I was gossiping, or anything – about you! We – we were just wondering – down in the servants' quarters, about your – hair color." She finished lamely.

Lan smiled. "It's all right, Changda. It's perfectly natural to be curious."

"Thank you, my lady." She still looked embarrassed, though.

Lan squeezed her arm affectionately. "Have you explored the ship yet?"

"A bit," Changda answered cautiously.

"Well, let's go explore everything else. We need to find the dining room. I'm starving!"

* * *

The voyage took nearly a week, time that Lan Chi used to begin to understand Fire Nation law. She was by no means an expert – she would have said, in fact, that she had little knowledge or understanding of the law, but she did have an inkling about some of the vocabulary used, and she was becoming familiar with the peculiar shorthand used by Fai's scribe. Although it required memorization, she realized that it would be much easier for her to use the truncated symbols and words in her note-taking, and then translate it into complete words and sentences for the official written record.

She practiced the symbols every night and tested herself on their meaning, and even had Changda read portions of law briefs to her so that she could transcribe them.

Fai was very impressed with her initiative and diligence, and started to believe that the progress would not be a complete disaster. Indeed, by the time they arrived in Nanzhou, their first stop, his confidence in the success of his mission had returned.

He did not have a lot of time to revel in his newfound confidence, however. The bailiff of the local court was waiting at the docks to escort Fai to the first tribunal. He and Lan, along with all of the law books, were hurried into a carriage, and Changda was sent, along with the luggage, to their hotel.

The bailiff, crammed onto the carriage seat with Fai while Lan sat opposite with her books, gave the girl a wary look. Fai briefly explained the situation to him, and, although the man's expression remained the same, he gave a curt nod in way of acknowledgment.

The ride to the courthouse took about ten minutes, and, as Fai and Lan alighted from the carriage, a guard in a Fire Nation uniform rushed out to salute them. The bailiff waved at the carriage.

"Bring those books to the courtroom for the judge's new scribe."

The man gave Lan Chi a startled look, but followed his orders.

The bailiff led Fai and Lan Chi into judge's chambers, where a small, wizened man in traditional judge's robes and long Wusha hat waited for them.

After the two men bowed to one another, a smile spread over the old man's face. "Fai Liang! Wonderful to see you again, old friend! It has been too long."

Fai returned the smile. "Almost three years." He turned to Lan. "May I present my niece, Lady Lan Chi Sun?"

Lan bowed to the man, who gave a shallow bow in return. "My lady."

"Your honor."

"What is she doing here, Fai?" He frowned. "This is most irregular."

"Well," Fai flushed, and cleared his throat. "My scribe suffered an accident mere hours before our departure and could not accompany me. Lady Lan Chi offered to take over his duties."

At the mention of her name, Lan smiled and bowed again.

The other judge gave her a doubtful look, but shrugged. "I will have you escorted to the courtroom, my lady, so that you might ready yourself."

"Thank you, your honor." Lan bowed again as the man opened the door and summoned a guard to take her to the courtroom.

The courtroom was small, crowded with rows of chairs, with a raised dais at one end, upon which sat two simple wooden tables – one on waist-high legs situated in the center of the dais, and a low table, to its side, with a cushion to sit on. It was on this lower table that the law books were stacked.

"There is parchment and everything else you may need on the table." The man escorted her up the dais stairs. "Court will begin in about a half hour."

"Thank you." She settled down as the man left, and looked at the brushes, ink well and stone, and paper weights upon the table's surface. She was really going to do this. She was really going to act as Uncle Fai's official scribe.

She felt a little sick to her stomach. What if she made a mistake in transcribing? What if a mistake she made caused a miscarriage of justice? She could end up condemning an innocent man to jail, or worse.

She shook her head to clear it. _Calm down, Lan Chi_. _Everything will be fine_. _Uncle Fai will be here to help you_. _Everything will be fine_!

She was not quite sure she believed herself, though.

She spent the next half hour reviewing the shorthand symbols again, and nervously dipping her brush in the inkwell, experimenting with the amount of ink necessary to write legibly and quickly.

Before she knew it, the time had passed, the doors were opened, and a large group of people surged into the room, all jostling for chairs. Those too slow or too timid to fight for seats filled the back of the courtroom until there seemed that the gallery could not hold even one more person.

The bailiff entered the room from another door, and climbed the dais. He cleared his throat. "This court of the sovereign Fire Nation Colony Occupied Territory of Nanzhou is now in session. The Honorable Fa Guan and the Most High Honorable Fai Liang presiding. Be upstanding." A hundred feet shuffled and everyone rose, with Lan jumping up belatedly.

Fai and the other man, who Lan presumed was Fa Guan, entered from the second door and ascended the dais. Fai was now dressed in his court clothing – a robe adorned with two cranes, showing his authority, and a long Wusha hat, much like Judge Guan's.

Fai nodded to Lan, and she gave him a small bow as he took his spot at the table, Judge Guan beside him.

All in the room were seated, and court was in session.

The next few hours were grueling for Lan. She was constantly either writing or referring to her page of shorthand symbols, or, frequently, furiously leafing through the law books trying to find a precedent or a reference to a particular court case.

Uncle Fai, in turn, listened to both the petitioners and the opponents of each suit, and, in some cases, ruled immediately. In some instances, however, he deferred judgment to a later time, citing the need to validate his decision with precedent.

Lan, luckily, did not need to transcribe everything that Fai said, although she had to listen closely enough to be able to discern between preamble and decision, which, in Uncle Fai's case, were often very similar.

After three to four hours of adjudication, Fai called a halt to the proceedings, and announced that the court would reconvene the next morning.

He rose and, along with Judge Guan, who had done little more than listen to Fai's opinions throughout the afternoon, he left the room.

Lan sighed with relief as the courtroom began to empty. She had gotten through the first session, and it had been difficult, and tiring, but she had done it. She had _done _it! Of course, she did not know how many mistakes she had made – she would have to review her notes prior to transcribing them in order to make sure that she had gotten everything right, but she had survived!

She began closing and stacking the books and blowing on the parchments to dry them more quickly, when Uncle Fai entered the room, in his street clothes once more.

"So," he smiled, "how did you do?"

Lan opened her eyes wide, and showed him her hands, stained with black. "I think I have more ink on me than the parchments do."

He laughed. "Occupational hazard."

She rubbed at the spots, but they did not budge. "I suppose so. Now I know why Aunt Ming told me to get some black robes."

He picked up her books as she stood. "You'll look like a judge yourself."

"I doubt very much that anyone would mistake me for a judge." She picked up the edge of a parchment wet with ink. "These aren't dry yet. What shall I do with them?"

"Give them a few more minutes. Let's take these books to the carriage and then we will come back and get them."

They walked companionably to a waiting carriage, and, as Fai had said, by the time they returned to the courtroom, the parchments were dry enough to be rolled into cylinders.

"Was the language difficult to understand? The jargon, and such?' He asked as they carried the notes to the carriage.

She shrugged. "A bit. Will you go over them with me later? I want to be certain that I got everything right."

"Over dinner. We'll order to my room and take a look at them."

"Thank you, Uncle Fai." She smiled at him as she climbed into the carriage.

He took the bundled parchment from her as she seated herself. "No, thank _you_. Were it not for you, Ming would be my scribe." He shuddered, and she laughed.

"That bad?"

"Oh, yes. That bad."

* * *

As Fai had promised, he reviewed Lan Chi's notes with her over a dinner of noodles with shredded pork and hot Fire Nation chili peppers.

He was surprised and pleased to find that she had made few mistakes, although he did laugh over her confusion regarding the symbols meaning _litigation _and _cessation_.

Lan Chi felt ridiculously pleased with herself, and after she bid goodnight to her uncle, she went to bed exhausted, but happy. She finally felt like she found a place where she _belonged_.

* * *

**Author's Note**: The title of the law book that Lan was reading is based on an actual law book! I goggled "boring book titles," and that one won!

A Wusha hat is the kind Sokka wore in "Avatar Day," and was the traditional garb for judges in China.

Lan has finally found something to occupy her time...you didn't think she would spend the rest of her life embroidering, pouring tea, and pining over Zuko, did you?


	11. Chapter 11

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN _NICKELODEON'S AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER_ OR ITS CHARACTERS. I just sell soft produce to retired Fire Nation soldiers.**

* * *

Lan Chi and Fai spent a week in Nanzhou and heard nearly a hundred cases, everything from water rights to criminal cases to disputes among neighbors, and then moved on to the next city on Fai's progress.

Lan discovered, as the assizes progressed, that Fai was a just and fair judge, always trying to make decisions that balanced Fire Nation law with existing Earth Kingdom customs. It was a fine line that he walked. Too much emphasis on Fire Nation law, and he was accused of being biased towards his native country. Too many concessions to Earth Kingdom tradition, and he was accused of being soft on, or pandering to, the conquered peoples.

Throughout all the long hours, Lan sat at her little table, taking notes and looking up precedent, all the while trying to keep the thread of the case. Several times she had to interrupt to ask something to be repeated, and, although she never ceased to be embarrassed by these requests, Fai was never impatient with her.

Every evening, over dinner, they would sit together and go over her notes, and then, long into the night, she would transcribe the notes into the official court record that would be stamped with Fai's seal, and put into the regional Hall of Records. There they would be copied _twice_ by a scribe, with one copy sent to the capital for placement in the national Hall of Records, and for disbursement across the Fire Nation and its colonies. The second copy would go to Fai himself so that he could have a record of his own rulings, for future review.

Frequently, after the assizes were completed in each town, a reception would be held in Fai's honor, hosted by either a local judge or an officer of the garrison. The commanding officer of one of the local garrisons, a Colonel Na, who had known Fai since they had both attended the Royal Fire Academy, invited Fai and Lan Chi for a small get-together and a quiet meal at his home in the fort.

Small was a relative term, Lan Chi soon found out. High-ranking military officers, city leaders, and other judges, along with all of their wives, were there, and, although Lan Chi was far from the same age as the women, she at least felt a little more at her ease than she would have been had only the men themselves been present.

At dinner, she was seated between two of the wives, who seemed to know each other.

"Oh, my lady, my husband tells me that you are Judge Liang's niece!" One of the women, Liuyang, exclaimed to Lan.

Lan smiled. "Yes. He is married to my paternal aunt. I've been living with them for almost a year now."

The other woman, Zige, chimed in. "Where were you living before?"

Lan turned to her. "In the capital, with another uncle."

"Grew tired of living in Royal Caldera?" Liuyang asked sympathetically.

"No, not really. I enjoyed living there, for the most part. It's just that my uncle had to – go away, and he could not take me with him."

"Oh, that's too bad." Zige frowned. "But you like living with the judge and his wife?"

"Oh, yes, very much. They're very kind to me."

"I understand that you substituted for Judge Liang's scribe at the last minute, and that's why you're here, for, surely, otherwise, the judge would not have brought you along. Judges don't usually bring their families along on their progresses, after all."

"You're quite right, Madame Zhu. Uncle Fai's scribe broke both his wrists on the very day they were due to leave. I was very happy to help, though. It's all been very interesting."

Both women lifted their brows and looked at each other. "If you say so, my lady. It all seems _extremely _boring." Zige said.

Lan shrugged. "I guess that I find it fascinating because I'm a bit of a history lover."

"Well, I suppose, living in the capital, you probably had a chance to visit the palace and see all the artifacts there," Zige said.

Lan blushed.

"What is it, my lady?" Liuyang asked.

"Well, I – I actually _lived _at the palace."

The women exchanged looks. Who was this young woman, who came from the capital and _lived_ in the palace?

"You lived at the palace?" Zige was incredulous.

"Er, well, yes. With my uncle. General Iroh."

The women were clearly surprised. "Prince Iroh is your uncle?" Liuyang put her chopsticks down.

"I had no idea!" Zige, too, stopped eating.

Lan was now clearly embarrassed. "Yes, um, he, um, was married to another of my paternal aunts, Su Hsing Sun."

"Oh, my! Now I know who you are! You are Admiral Sun's daughter!"

Lan smiled slightly. "Yes."

"Oh, my dear! He was a great man! What a tragedy when he died!"

"Thank you." Lan inclined her head.

"And Su Hsing is Ming Yi Liang's sister! That's right!"

"Yes." Lan nodded.

"So you lived in the capital with the ferocious Dragon of the West!"

"Yes, I suppose so." Lan did not think of Iroh in quite those terms.

"My goodness! Then you must have been there for that _disgraceful_ agni kai."

Lan's face paled. "I – actually was _not_ there." _Please don't talk about it_. She begged silently. _And please don't support Ozai_.

"Well, thank goodness! To see that poor boy get half his face burned off would have been _too _ghastly!"

Lan closed her eyes for a brief moment, and took a deep breath. She had never actually thought of the agni kai like that before. _Half his face burned off_.

"Well, I must say," Liuyang looked around and lowered her voice, "there are _many_ of us who think that what the Fire Lord did was shocking. Just shocking. And ill-befitting a monarch. To treat a child so!" She shook her head. "I tell you, when my husband found out about that, he said to me," she paused dramatically, "he said, _Liuyang, mark my words_. _No good will come of this_. _No good at all_!" She nodded emphatically, and Zige nodded, as well.

"That poor boy." Zige shook her head. "I hope that he knows that he has supporters amongst his people."

Lan Chi gave a wan, but grateful, smile. "I'm certain that he does."

* * *

They were packed and ready to leave the city the next morning, in the carriage that had come along with them on the ship. The next town was a two-day journey through Fire Nation-controlled territory, so it was not dangerous. However, due to Fai's importance, they had a team of six outriders, all of whom accompanied Lan and Fai on each leg of their journey.

During the first portion of the journey, Changda rode inside with Lan and Fai, but, after a few hours, she declared the interior _stuffy_ and opted to ride with the coachman, leaving Lan with an entire side of the carriage to herself, and allowing her to spread out the law books that she continued to study whenever possible. Fai himself was studying the briefs for the upcoming cases that he would hear, and, so, they passed much of the journey without even talking, except at rest stops.

Late that afternoon, Lan scratched at her dry eyes and stretched. The words were swimming before her eyes, and she needed a break.

Uncle Fai smiled. "Tired?"

She nodded and gave a brief smile. "A bit. Just mentally, though. It's not as if I'm doing anything _physical,_ after all. Just sitting."

"Hunched over. It's quite understandable."

"Aren't you tired, too?"

"A bit. But I want to get through the briefs of at least the first day's cases before we arrive. The O.T. Court in this city runs a very tight ship."

Lan was confused. "What's O.T.?"

"Occupied Territory. We call it O.T. for short."

Lan was puzzled. "I've seen that before – on some of the documents. They keep calling the regions _Fire Nation Colony Occupied Territory_. Why?"

Fai took off his glasses. "Well, it stems from when the colonies were first settled. As you can probably understand, most of the colonies were settled, how should I say it, _under duress_. Conquered, in other words. And, again understandably, the Earth Kingdom people who lived in the colonies did _not_ want to be under Fire Nation control."

"I guess I can understand that, but they _had_ to know that the Fire Nation was bringing them a greater civilization."

"Greater civilization by what standard?"

"Uncle Fai!" Lan was scandalized.

"Don't get me wrong, Lan. I am Fire Nation, born and bred, and I shall be loyal unto death. But I also have traveled through these lands long enough to know that the concept of _greatness_ varies – it is all dependent upon one's point of view."

"I don't understand."

"Well, think of it this way. What would you think of the Earth Kingdom, and its ways, had they invaded your village and declared it a different name, with a different government?"

"I suppose that I would be angry, and oppose it."

"And so many of the Earth Kingdom people – _most_, really, felt that way about the Fire Nation. Some still do."

"Oh."

"Why do you think we travel with guards? Why do you think all of the colonies have such strong garrisons? Rebellion, dissent – it's a constant. We are still not welcome here by many." At her confused look, he went on. "That is why we are so conscientious about having courts of law. Courts of law that allow former Earth Kingdom nationals the ability to seek justice, and redress wrongs – against Fire Nation colonists, and against the government itself. If the people believe that they have the ability to right what they consider a _wrong_, all within the auspices of Fire Nation law, they are more content. They are more willing to live under our rule if they believe that we will _listen _to them and consider their points of view."

"Oh." Lan was shocked. She had not really considered the feelings of the conquered Earth Kingdom people very much. She thought that they _wanted_, for the most part, the _march of civilization _that was intrinsic in the Fire Nation pledge. After all, who _wouldn't _want to live in an advanced civilization like that of the Fire Nation's?

"Anyway, to answer your question, we call it _Fire Nation Colony Occupied Territory _as a reminder that it was taken in war. Many of the Earth Kingdom people insist that we call it that. I suppose it allows them to think of themselves as Earth Kingdom people under Fire Nation rule, and gives them peace. They are still Earth Kingdom, but also Fire Nation."

"I would think that it would anger them – to know, to be _reminded_, that their land is _occupied_."

Fai shrugged. "I do not claim to understand them all the time. They are a different, separate people, with a distinct heritage and culture – for all we try to assimilate them."

"I think you do a good job."

"Of what? Assimilating them?"

"Of understanding them. I have been listening to you when you pass your judgments."

He laughed. "I hope so! You're transcribing them."

"No, I mean that I have been really _listening_. You're a very fair man, Uncle Fai. I can tell that you _really_ are trying to be as fair as possible within the scope of the law. And – that's impressive. Not many men can say that they are _truly_ fair."

Fai smiled. "Thank you, Lan. That means quite a bit – coming from you."

"What do you mean _coming from you_?"

"I mean that I am very fond of you. So is Ming. And your opinion of me matters very much."

Lan blushed. "Thank you, Uncle Fai. I – I'm very fond of you, too. And Aunt Ming. She's – _spectacular_!"

Fai threw his head back and laughed. "She is pretty spectacular."

"I don't know if I ever – thanked you for letting me live with you."

He waved a hand. "No thanks are necessary. We are glad – very glad to have you with us. You've been a blessing." His face became sober. "You know, of course, that we lost our only – daughter a few years ago."

Lan nodded.

"We don't talk about her – much. It's still very – hard. We _took_ it very hard. _Very _hard. I did not know if Ming would ever recover. She _changed_ so much. She was not the woman you see now." He shook his head sadly. "It did not help her that I was gone so much, either. But, when we got word that you were coming to live with us," Fai gave a nostalgic smile, "I got Ming back. She was more like her old self again. I was so happy. So relieved."

Lan took his hand impulsively. "I have loved living with you and Aunt Ming. I haven't had – parents for so long. Uncle Iroh – he's wonderful. But he was gone for so long, and then, when he came back, there was so much going on, and so much _turmoil_ between us – and, and there was Zuko, and," she shook her head,"I don't know what I am saying." She sighed. "I guess I just want to say that, when I left the capital, when Uncle Iroh and Zuko left, I thought that I would never be happy again." She gave a shy smile. "But I have been – happy, I mean. And it's thanks to you and Aunt Ming."

He squeezed her fingers. "You've made us happy, too, Lan Chi. More than you know."

* * *

They arrived safely in the next town, and, luckily, the assizes there were not as long as the previous one, and they were able to move on to another city after only two and a half days, ahead of schedule by a day.

As they climbed into the carriage, Fai put a hand on Lan Chi's arm. "Lan, I want you to know that the area that we are traveling through today is contested territory."

"What does that mean?"

"It means it's a war zone, my lady." Changda was passing her mistress's portmanteau up into the cab.

"What?" Lan whirled to look at her.

Changda blushed, suddenly aware that she had interrupted her employer's conversation.

"Changda's right, Lan. It's not an _active_ war zone, but there is always a possibility of skirmishes." He turned to the maid. "I think that you should ride inside with us, Changda. For your own protection."

Changda looked at him briefly, then cast her eyes down. "Yes, Sir."

"So th – there's a chance we could stumble into a battle?"

Fai smiled slightly. "Not likely. At any sign of danger, we would turn back."

"Good to know. Wait!" She stopped the men loading her luggage. "I need something." She unbuckled the straps and threw the lid open. Inside, on top, lay her bow and arrows. She pulled them out and handed them to Changda to bring inside the carriage. "Now I'm ready."

The buildings of the town gave way to farmlands and then to grasslands, and then to land churned up by earthbending and scorched by fire. Broken Earth Kingdom battle discs protruded from the ground. Twisted machinery and weapons littered the ground, and helmets, both Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom, lay abandoned.

Lan Chi shivered. She had never seen a battleground before. There were none, of course, in the Fire Nation, and, although she had lived in the colonies as a very young child, she did not remember it at all.

They passed the ruined remains of a village, and Lan Chi felt vaguely sick to her stomach. Houses and barns toppled and destroyed, with weeds snaking from between bricks and out of empty windows. Bleached skeletons of ostrich-horses and rhinos lay desolately amongst the waving grasses. Broken furniture and dishes, signs of life long gone, were scattered and strewn about.

Lan heard sniffling, and turned to see Changda staring out the opposite window. This was her land, and the people who had lived here were her people.

"Oh, Changda," Lan touched her arm.

Changda pulled it away and shook her head. "Not now, my lady. Please." She continued to look out the window opposite, and Lan could not see her expression.

Fai tapped Lan on the knee and shook his head somberly, and Lan sat back against the cushions, quiet and chastened.

They passed out of the war zone safely, and, soon enough, were back amongst fertile farmland and then into a lively city. Changda was quiet the rest of the journey, and she remained subdued as she unloaded and carried Lan Chi's portmanteau into their hotel.

Fai retired to his room, leaving Lan Chi to hers. Lan opened the door slowly to find Changda silently putting her mistress's clothes away.

Lan closed the door behind her. "Changda."

Changda did not answer, but continued to go about her duties with crisp efficiency.

"Changda. I'm sorry." She _was_ sorry – she had not done anything, of course, but _she_ felt responsible for what her nation had done to Changda's.

"It is not your fault, my lady. You need not apologize."

"I – I know – that it's not. But, I _feel_ bad. I feel bad because – well, because I've never really thought about what it must be like to be on the other side – the Earth Kingdom. I – I was brought up, you know, in the Fire Nation, and," she shook her head, "we're not taught that. And it's wrong. I should have known that there are two sides in a war – and that the other side might not think the way we do."

"My lady, with all due respect, you are not making this any better. And you are not making sense."

Lan's shoulders slumped. "I guess that I am trying to say that I am sorry for what we saw today. It must be hard to see parts of your country like that. And – it was hard for me to see it, too. It's hard for me to accept that the Fire Nation was responsible for that. For destroying that village. For ruining – for destroying – so many lives."

Changda's eyes were cast down, and she was silent for a long time. "Thank you, my lady. I – my family has lost a lot in this war. We lost family members, we lost land, we lost – freedom." She looked at Lan. "The women of my family only became servants because so much land was taken away that we couldn't support ourselves anymore with what was left."

"I'm so sorry." Lan felt, if possible, even worse than before. She had lost a lot to the war, but it seemed that Changda had, too.

"The best work we could get was with Fire Nation families, because there are no Earth Kingdom families left here who have enough money to hire us."

"So you've had to work for the same people who caused _your_ family so much pain. Like – _my_ family."

"Your family has been kind to me; _you_ have been kind to me. I don't want to seem ungrateful. I'm not. It's just – hard. Sometimes I feel like a traitor to the Earth Kingdom. And sometimes I feel that working for you – well, I do not want to be beholden to – the enemy."

"I don't want to be your enemy!"

Changda looked sad. "But you're Fire Nation."

Lan drew herself up. "Yes, I am. But I'm not your enemy. And you're not mine. I'm not responsible for what the Fire Nation has done."

Changda was silent for a long time. "I know, my lady. But – it's not easy to remember that."

"Will you try?"

Changda looked at Lan unblinkingly. "I will try, my lady."

"Thank you, Changda. That's all I can ask."

* * *

The rest of the evening was awkward whenever Changda was in the room, and Lan Chi did not know how to change that. She was sorry that Changda's life had been turned upside down by the war. She was very sorry, but she had no solution to it; she could do nothing to stop the war, nor change Changda's circumstances.

It was really rather jarring to realize that the Fire Nation was the _enemy _to most of the world. She had been raised, of course, to believe in the justice of the war – to believe that the Fire Nation was in the right, and that the Fire Nation was being _benevolent_ in trying to spread its prosperity. But to _see_ the chaos and the destruction that the Fire Nation's ambitions had wrought – it had shocked her.

She went to bed somber and woke the same. Changda was bustling about the room, laying out her clothes, and Lan sat up.

"I'm glad to see you here, Changda."

"Why wouldn't I be here, my lady?"

Lan blushed. "I – I don't know. You were very – angry last night."

Changda sighed. "I wasn't angry with you, my lady. I was just – angry." She shook her head. "My whole life has been – the war. Everything that has happened in my life has been _because_ of the war. And – seeing the battlefield – it was just – hard." She was silent for a long time. "But you were right last night; the war isn't your fault – or your family's. And I shouldn't forget that. Besides, you have as much reason to hate the Earth Kingdom as I have to hate the Fire Nation. You lost your father and your cousin."

Lan smiled. "Thank you, Changda." She threw back the sheets, jumped from the bed, and impulsively hugged the maid.

Changda returned the embrace briefly, and stepped away. "Now let's get you dressed, my lady."

* * *

The first day of the assizes in this town started as the other two had, with effusive greetings for Fai and reserved greetings for Lan Chi, who, as a female scribe, was still quite a novelty.

As the court session began, and the bailiff announced her uncle and stated the date for the record, a humming began in Lan's ears that drowned out all other sound.

She looked down at the parchment before her and closed her eyes. _The date_. _That _date. It couldn't be. It just couldn't! She worked forwards in her brain from the date of the last assizes. Oh, spirits. It was.

It was the one year anniversary of the agni kai.

She felt bile rise in her throat, and she clenched her hands on the table before her. How could she have forgotten it? _How _could she have forgotten it?

She took a deep breath in through her nose, willing her stomach to calm. A year. A year since her life had been _ruined_. A year since she had seen Zuko. A year since she had held his hand and tasted his lips and been held in his arms.

Spirits! How would she get through this day?!

_As you have every other day in the past year – moment by moment_. The voice in her head that had guided her throughout much of the last year advised her again.

She shook her head and tried to focus on the words around her. The first case had begun, and she had not heard a word that had been said. She lifted stricken eyes to Fai, but he was concentrating on the advocate who was speaking.

She groaned. She would have to interrupt him and ask that everything be repeated. Fai had told her that she could do that – it was important that the record be accurate, he had said to her many days before, so if she was uncertain about something that had been said, she was to ask that it be repeated.

With dread in her heart, she cleared her throat and did just that, trying to ignore the looks of censure from the advocates and the local judges, although, on Fai's face, she was surprised to find a kind half-smile.

* * *

By the end of the day, Lan had a headache so severe that she was seeing spots before her eyes, and barely made it out of the courtroom and into the washroom before throwing up the contents of her stomach.

She sank weakly down to the floor and stared at the wall. What was wrong with her? Her head was pounding, seemingly in tandem with the beating of her heart. She had never had a headache this severe before. Perhaps she could heal it away.

She pulled herself to her feet and carefully made her way to the basin. The old building had no indoor plumbing, so she pulled some water out of the pitcher standing there, and, inhaling deeply, she placed her hand, now surrounded by glowing water, against her head. She stood there for several long moments, and the pain began to ebb somewhat.

She heard the door open, and, panicked, allow the water to fall from her hand. It spilled down her face and robe, soaking her. She gave a quiet oath and stepped back.

The woman who walked through the door gave her a look of surprise and uncertainty, and turned on her heel to leave. Once the door closed behind her, Lan sighed with relief and bent the water off herself. "Busybody," she muttered.

She left and made her way to the courthouse entrance, where Fai was waiting for her.

"My goodness, Lan, are you quite well?" Concern was evident in his voice when he saw her unusually pale face.

"Headache."

He called for the carriage, and it rolled up immediately. He helped her into the cab and sat across from her.

"Is there anything that I can do?"

"I just want to go to bed."

He nodded.

"Have you the session notes?" She asked. The pain was returning.

"Yes. But don't worry about that for tonight."

She nodded silently, and Fai gave the order to spring the horses.

The carriage shot forward, and, although she wanted to be sick again, she held it back.

All through the brief ride to the inn, she held herself in check, and, once there, Fai insisted upon helping her to her room.

Changda was waiting for her there.

"My lady! What is amiss? You look – horrible!"

Fai handed her into Changda's capable hands. "Headache. She needs a hot bath, a cup of tea, and some sleep, I think."

Lan nodded.

"Thank you, Sir." Changda smiled at her employer. "I'll take it from here."

"Shall I send dinner for you?" He asked the maid.

"Thank you, Sir, but no need. I'll grab something later."

He nodded and was gone.

Changda turned to Lan. "Let's get you into that bath." She stripped Lan's clothes and guided her to the tub.

The inn, luckily, was new, and boasted piped hot water, which allowed Changda to draw a hot bath for Lan Chi.

Lan lay there with steam curling around her, and allowed her element to soothe and restore her. She pressed healing water to her head until she felt almost human again, and, snaking the water back into the tub, she called for Changda.

"Yes, my lady?" The maid poked her head in the door.

"I think I'd like some tea now, please."

"Just steeping, my lady."

"Thank you." She smiled, and, as Changda was ducking out, she called her back. "Oh, and Changda? Are we – all right, now?"

Changda smiled, as well. "Yes, my lady. I can't hate a _whole _country. It's too exhausting."

* * *

The dream came to her some time in the night. She first became aware of colors – the vivid green of the trees, the deep blue of the river, the obsidian black of his hair. Next came the rush of emotions – love, joy, satisfaction. And then came the images – a man chopping wood, his light, golden eyes crinkling with a smile, his skin shining with the sheen of sweat. _Zuko_ – she knew it was him, even though he had a different face, and the clothes of a peasant. She saw him come to her, his strong arms enfolding her, his lips touching hers.

"_You should stop chopping. There is enough wood here to see us through a dozen winters_."

He laughed, and slipped his hand onto her abdomen. "_Perhaps for the two of us. For the three of us, however..._" he trailed off, and kissed her again, and Lan knew utter happiness, rushing through her like warm water over her skin.

The dream receded, and Lan turned over, hugging herself, wishing she could feel his arms around her again.

* * *

Author's Note: Lan does some growing up in this chapter, and starts to see that the Fire Nation's glorious war is not so glorious to others.


	12. Chapter 12

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN _NICKELODEON'S AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER_ OR ITS CHARACTERS. I just tend the Sun Warrior's eternal flame.**

* * *

**Author's Pre-Chapter Note: **Hello, all! I have been ultra busy writing TWO fanfics - this one, and my NEW Young Justice Nightwing/OC fanfic, _Shatter Me! _Please check it out if you are a Young Justice or Nightwing fan!

* * *

Zuko ignored the knock on his door, and drew the sheet up over his head. It was past dawn – long past the time when he would normally get up. But this was no normal day.

"Prince Zuko?" His uncle's voice came through the panels of the door.

Zuko was silent, and the knocking continued.

"Zuko?" Iroh's voice sounded concerned now. "Are you well?"

Zuko turned away from the door, the covers still over his head. He heard the door open, followed by the sound of footsteps.

"Prince Zuko?"

Zuko remained quiet.

"I know what day it is, Zuko." Iroh's words were meant to be soothing.

"Go away, Uncle." Zuko's voice was rough from unshed tears.

"You shouldn't stay cooped up in here, thinking about it."

"I said _go away_." Zuko's back remained towards his uncle.

Iroh looked at him for a long moment, then, with a sigh, turned and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Zuko squeezed his eyes shut, memories assailing him.

It was a year today.

A year since the agni kai.

A year since his life had been ruined.

A year less a day since he had seen his father.

A year less a day since he had seen Lan Chi, crying at the port.

A year since his dreams had been ground into dust.

A year since he had been burned and banished.

A year, and he was no closer to finding the avatar than he had been the day he stepped onto this ship.

He wondered sometimes why he even bothered. He had almost no chance of finding the avatar, which meant that he had almost no chance of redeeming himself, almost no chance of having his honor restored, almost no chance of regaining his birthright, almost no chance of marrying Lan.

But he also had no choice. He had to _fight_; he had to try. It was worth it; it was worth all the sacrifice. _She _was worth it. He would endure anything to be returned to his former position; he would endure anything to go home; he would endure anything to be in her arms again. Anything.

But he would accomplish nothing lying in bed.

He sat up and let the sheet fall to his waist. He would get up and train, as he would any other day. Any other _normal_ day.

* * *

"Well, Prince Zuko, your birthday is next week." Iroh smiled at his nephew over dinner.

Zuko did not lift his eyes from his rice bowl. "I am aware of that." He continued to shovel food into his mouth.

"And I have an idea about that."

"I do not want any fuss made." He looked at Iroh briefly. "And that means no noodles, no eggs, no peach bun. No _nothing_."

"But, Zuko, you are only fifteen once."

"And I thought that I would be spending my fifteenth birthday at home. Since I am _not_, I won't be celebrating."

"Be that as it may, I am getting you a present."

"Thank you, Uncle, but there is nothing that I want."

"Ah, perhaps, but there is always something that you _need_."

Zuko helped himself to more komodo chicken from the communal bowl. "The only thing that I _need_ is the avatar in the prison hold."

"Actually, you need new armor. And we will be in Yu Dao in a few days. I understand that they are becoming known for their wonderful metalwork."

Zuko looked at his uncle in surprise. "I do not need new armor. My current armor is fine."

"Zuko, you got that armor before we left Caldera. That was over a year ago."

"So? I know for a fact that you have not gotten new armor since you came back from Ba Sing Se."

"But I am not _growing_, Zuko, as you are. Well, perhaps I am, but, since I am able to suck my belly in, it doesn't matter how much I grow." He gave a low chuckle. "You, however, have grown _much_ broader, and your torso has lengthened."

Zuko's ears blushed in pleasure.

"In your current armor, you look like a bit like an overgrown child in hand-me-downs."

Zuko's pleasure faded. Leave it to Uncle to make him feel silly.

* * *

Yu Dao was amongst the oldest, if not the oldest, of all the Fire Nation colonies, and, among the colonies, it was a model of prosperity and integration. The Fire Nation citizens and former Earth Kingdom citizens lived together in relative harmony under Fire Nation rule. Unemployment was low and, thanks to its location at the base of a fertile mountain range, food was plentiful and cheap.

That did not mean that Zuko felt comfortable announcing his identity to the populace at large. He knew that, for all the amity on the surface, there was always enmity lurking just below, especially amongst the Earth Kingdom people, many of whom secretly yearned for a return to Earth Kingdom rule. It was for that reason that he _always_ kept his identity a secret in the colonies, if he could manage it.

They were due to stay in Yu Dao for several days – long enough to do some searching in the nearby mountains, and long enough to find a smith to fashion armor for Zuko. The prince was measured and fit, and the armor was promised for four days later, the day that they were due to leave Yu Dao, and Iroh volunteered to fetch it when it was ready.

Leaving Iroh to investigate the city and garrison, Zuko took Jee and four other firebenders with him into the mountains, and, although they explored all of the known caves and the small villages within two days' ride, they found, predictably, nothing, and headed back to Yu Dao.

They returned to the ship the morning of the fourth day, with preparations already underway for their departure. Coming aboard the bridge, Zuko found Iroh playing pai sho with the engineer.

The young prince removed his helmet, his eyes narrowed. "Cho, are we ready to sail?"

"Yeah." Cho looked at him absently, then, realizing who was speaking, he jumped to his feet. "Yes! I mean, yes, your highness! The coal delivery was yesterday. We will be ready to leave with the tide this afternoon."

"Prince Zuko! Welcome back!" Iroh opened his arms expansively.

Zuko gave him a quick look. "Hello, Uncle." He turned his attention back to the engineer. "And there is nothing else that you must do to prepare? You have so few responsibilities that you have time to play a child's game with my uncle?" He was annoyed that, while he spent the last four days riding and sleeping on the ground and _not _bathing, his crew was lounging, playing pai sho.

"It is not a child's game, Nephew. It is a game of strategy and skill, and requires mental acuity and patience."

Zuko gave his uncle an irritated look.

Zuko's words, however, had done their job. The engineer rose, and, bowing to Zuko and Iroh in turn, left the bridge.

Iroh sighed. "You are always scaring off my opponents, Prince Zuko."

"I'm saving them money, Uncle. You fleece them terribly."

"It is not _fleecing_, Zuko. I am simply a superior player."

His arms were crossed on his chest. "Hmm. So you say." He turned to leave.

"Did you find any sign of the avatar?" Iroh began collecting the game pieces.

Zuko shot him a dark look over his shoulder. "I'm going to bathe. I smell like an ostrich horse."

As he left the room, his uncle's voice stopped him. "Happy birthday, Prince Zuko."

He stopped for a moment, and closed his eyes. "Thank you, Uncle."

He made his way to his cabin. It was stuffy after being closed up for four days, and he opened the small window to let in fresh air. He removed his armor, which, he had to admit, was a bit snug around his shoulders, grabbed a towel, and walked down to the main shower area. He and Uncle Iroh actually had their own showering area, but the pipes in that room squeaked and whistled so loudly that Zuko could not bear to be in there for more than a minute or two, so he often used the soldiers' bath.

He stripped his clothes off and turned on one of the shower heads. Hot, blissful water came gushing out, and he stepped beneath it. He lifted his face, and allowed the grime of the past four days to be stripped away. He unwound his hair and it fell around his face, hanging almost halfway down his back, and he reflected that it might be time for a haircut.

He braced his hands against the smooth tile walls, and leaning forward, his face turned down, he stood there for many minutes, letting the water cascade over him. It felt so good just to _stop_ for a moment, to allow just a moment of quietude.

He lathered and rinsed, toweled off, and, wrapping the towel around his waist and grabbing his dirty clothes, walked back to his cabin.

The room had cooled off in his absence, and he relished the feeling of the coldness against his naked skin. He dropped his laundry and threw himself on his bed. He was so tired after his long journey that he just wanted to close his eyes and sleep.

Sleep would be – good. A quick nap would make him feel human again – and would make him forget all about his birthday. Another birthday spent on this forsaken ship. Another birthday in exile. Another birthday alone. Spirits! How he hated this ship! How he hated floating around endlessly! How he hated being away from everything he loved.

Maybe he could go to sleep, and not wake up until tomorrow. Until this stupid day was over.

* * *

He felt a pressure on his chest, and he opened his eyes. They focused on a face over his – a beautiful, beloved face. "Lan," he breathed, and reached out his hands to her.

She smiled, and splayed her fingers on his pectoral muscles. "Hello, my love." Her hair was loose, her eyes wide and filled with adoration. She wore the same nightgown that she wore the night he came to her window – so long ago.

"This is a dream." His voice was rough, full of regret.

"But it's a good dream." She slid her hands up and over his shoulders, lowering her body until they were pressed together. "I love you so much." She touched her lips to his. "I miss you."

His fingers went through her hair. "Me, too."

"Have you found the avatar?"

He shook his head sadly. "No."

"Don't you want me?" She laid her head across his chest.

"More than anything."

She looked at him again, and there was something in her eyes that he had no trouble recognizing – desire. "Find the avatar." She brought her lips close to his. "And you can have me."

He kissed her then, and his arms wrapped her around her. She returned his kiss fiercely, and he felt himself harden – a sensation that was becoming commonplace and bothersome in his loveless life.

He heard a knocking on the door – distant and insistent. She broke away from him.

"Zuko?" It was Iroh's voice. "Zuko? Prince Zuko?"

She looked alarmed. "It's Uncle! Hide me!"

"Yes," he nodded, and looked around the room for a place to conceal her, but when he turned back to her, he found his arms empty.

"Zuko! Are you awake?"

Zuko sat up with a jerk. He was alone, and the late afternoon sun was slanting through his window. There was a knocking at his door.

"Uh," he rubbed his head, "just a minute, Uncle." He looked down at himself. He was still covered with a towel, but he had a raging erection. Of course. Of course he did. Panicked, he tried shoving it down, and howled in pain. _Bad idea, Zuko_!

His door opened and Iroh's head peeked through. "Prince Zuko, are you quite well?"

Gritting his teeth, Zuko rose. "Fine, Uncle. What do you want?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Zuko, I didn't want to," his eyes ran over his nephew, "er, disturb you. I just wanted to find out how your armor looks."

Zuko quickly grabbed a pair of pants, and, turning away, slid them on. "I haven't tried it on yet. Where is it?" He faced Iroh.

"What do you mean? Didn't you pick it up?"

Zuko looked at him with dismay. "Me? _You_ said that you were going to pick it up."

"Did I? Oh, hee, hee." He chuckled. "Perhaps I did."

"_Uncle_." Zuko groaned.

"I'm sorry, Zuko."

Zuko looked out the window. "Have we left port yet?"

"No. We have about an hour and a half until slack tide."

"And then about an hour after that until it ends." He grabbed a shirt. "I'll go fetch the armor."

"But, Zuko, picking up your own birthday present!"

He waved his hand dismissively. "It's all right, Uncle. I don't mind." He grabbed his boots, and shoved his feet into them. "Just tell Jee to hold the ship until I return."

He finished getting dressed quickly and was gone, leaving Iroh to go up to the bridge on his own.

"General Iroh!" He turned as a voice from behind hailed him. It was the cook's assistant. He jogged up to Iroh and gave a quick bow. "Cook found a tea peddler who received a shipment of golden needles tea."

Iroh's eyes goggled. "G – golden needles? The rarest, most mouth watering tea in the known world? And – he _bought _some, for me?" He followed the man, all thoughts of talking to Lieutenant Jee forgotten.

* * *

The smith was a ten-minute ride by ostrich-horse, but Zuko did not want to unstable Xuan, so he found a carriage on the docks that took only a few minutes more to reach his destination.

"Wait here." He handed over his fare, plus another copper piece, to entice the driver to remain.

"Yes, Sir."

The smith's was an open air establishment, with a forge on one side, and an area to keep all the finished products on the other. Zuko saw his armor sitting on a stump; he went over to it, and ran his fingers over the smooth metal.

"It turned out well, did it not, Sir?" A voice came from behind him, and he turned.

"Yes, it did." It took Zuko a moment to remember that he had not told the man who he really was. All the smith knew was that Zuko was a young, rich man in need of armor.

"I just put the finishing touches on it this morning."

"It's beautiful."

"Thank you." He beamed at the compliment. "Would you like to try it on?"

"Yes, please." He allowed the smith to help him into the armor.

The man stepped back and looked at his customer critically. "Hmm. It looks a little loose here." He indicated Zuko's torso. "I think that I can fix it by adjusting the angle of the plate." He removed the armor and carried it to the forge.

"Will it take long? My ship is leaving within two hours."

"Oh, it should take less than an eighth of that time."

Zuko nodded. "Then, yes, please."

The man began working the metal, and Zuko walked back over to the carriage.

"It appears that it will take a bit longer. Can you wait?"

The man gave Zuko a shrewd look. "I don't know. I am missing a lot of fares."

Zuko gave a silent sigh and pulled some coins from his pocket. "I can give you two copper pieces to stay."

The man held out his palm, and Zuko handed them over.

He walked back to the forge and watched the smith hammer. And hammer. And hammer. And hammer.

After more than a quarter of an hour of manipulation, the man declared the armor done, and he fitted it on Zuko again. "No. not yet." He pulled it from the prince's shoulders, and went back to work. Zuko stood around aimlessly watching the man work for another quarter of an hour, and, when the smith brought it over, Zuko eagerly donned it.

"Better, I think, Sir." The man smiled.

Zuko regarded himself. "Yes, I think so."

"And you did not need new wrist cuffs, then? You are sure?"

"No, thank you. The cuffs were always a bit loose, so now, they are perfect."

"Very good, Sir." He grabbed a rag covered with oil, and began buffing the armor while Zuko wore it. The prince stepped back, out of reach.

"That's not necessary. Thank you for your diligence, though." Zuko was trying to keep his temper, but the man was making his frustration level rise.

The smith bowed. "It has been my honor to serve you."

Zuko bowed back. "Thank you."

The man bowed again, an expectant look on his face, and Zuko realized that he was waiting for a gratuity. His uncle had paid for the armor as a birthday present, but, since Iroh was not here, it fell to Zuko to give the man a tip for services well done. Zuko did not mind, but he was not certain he had much money left. He dug into his pocket. He had eighteen copper pieces left. That would surely be more than enough to pay for his return fare.

He gave the smith a five-copper piece, and the man grinned broadly. "Thank you, Sir! Thank you. Should you ever require new armor, or need to have this armor repaired – "

Zuko interrupted him. "I know where to come." He bade the man farewell, and walked briskly back to the waiting carriage. "To the docks," he told the driver, and, as the man allowed the horse to spring froward, he jumped into the cab.

He estimated that he would make it back to the pier with more than a half hour to spare, and he smiled smugly. Uncle could never have made it to the smith's and back in that time.

He jumped from the carriage as it slowed at the pier, and paid the driver his fare, along with a generous tip. As the carriage pulled away, he turned to the berth where his ship awaited him.

He stopped. There was no ship there. He drew his brow down. He must have gotten the wrong berth. He looked around him. There were other ships in port – even other Fire Nation navy ships, but none that were his. He walked down the pier a short ways, and then back. No. This was the berth. He was certain of it.

"You have _got_ to be kidding." He said to no one in particular.

They had left him behind.

He stood, staring out at the sea, to a small, gray speck moving steadily away. His ship, he presumed. He knew what had happened – or at least he had a good idea. His uncle had been distracted by something, and the task to which Zuko had entrusted him had been forgotten.

"Arrrrgh!" He lifted his hands skyward, and twin blasts of fire exploded above his head from his fists. Couldn't one thing – just _one thing_ go right for him? On his _birthday_? How could he possibly have been abandoned by his own ship on his birthday? Why did the universe hate him?

He sighed. Hopefully Iroh or Jee would notice that he was not aboard and deduce that he had been left behind – and return for him. The question was: how long would that take?

He sighed again and sat down. The truth of the matter was that, even after they noticed that he was missing, they would have to wait for the next tide to return. So he potentially was stuck here for many hours. Maybe even overnight.

He dug into his pocket for to see how much money he had left. Six copper pieces. He groaned. Not enough to get a room at an inn. Enough for dinner, though. Well, perhaps he would not have to wait until morning for their return. Potentially, if they had already discovered that he was missing, they might, even now, be turning back.

He waited for a while, hoping to see the craft grow larger rather than smaller on the horizon, but he was rewarded with the ship disappearing, instead. He gave another, deep sigh, and stood. He might as well not sit here like an idiot and wait for his ship to come in – when it came back, it would have to _wait_ for him. It did not matter if he was sitting on the dock or sitting in a restaurant.

So he might as well be comfortable. He walked from the docks, swerving around the press of humanity coming and going. He made his way to one of the many eateries in the open market, a humble outdoor restaurant featuring low tables and a large fabric awning for a roof. He sat down at an empty table, and, presently, an old woman shuffled over to serve him.

"What will you have?" She wore an old, threadbare robe and an apron stained by many days' worth of food, and Zuko wondered whether it was wise to eat there.

"Uh – what do you have?"

"What do we _have_?" Her voice was incredulous. "You want I should read the entire menu to you?" She jabbed a thumb over her shoulder at a list of dishes written on a board behind a counter. "Read it yourself."

Zuko was taken aback. "Oh. All right." He squinted at the menu. "Um – noodles?"

"What kind?"

"Oh. What kind. I don't know." A sudden inspiration came to him. "Whatever is the most popular." That seemed safe – if an item was popular, it was probably fresh, and safe to eat. "And a pot of tea, please."

"Most popular? Aren't you a trendsetter?"

He watched her leave, and felt a childish impulse to stick out his tongue. However, that was unbecoming a prince of the Fire Nation, so he contented himself with glaring at her back.

The restaurant had a view of the port, and he gazed out at the water. From here, he would probably be able to see when his ship returned. That was good. Maybe he could stay here until then.

As he sat there, he reviewed his day. He had awakened on the ground, stiff and weary, and had spent hours on the back of an ostrich horse, only to end up stranded in a strange city with little money and no idea when he would be able to leave.

The waitress returned with his order. She plunked down a bowl of noodles with chopsticks, and an iron teapot with matching cup, and stared at him. He felt her eyes on him, and looked up at her weathered face.

"Thank you." He inclined his head.

She extended a hand, and he looked at it quizzically.

"Three gold pieces."

"_Three_? For a bowl of noodles and a pot of tea?"

"Most popular noodle dish. Also the most expensive."

Grumbling, he reached into his pocket, pulled the coins out, and reluctantly slapped them into the woman's hand. She took them, and, with a nod, left.

He looked down at the most popular noodle dish on the menu, which, apparently, was noodles with _fish_. "Happy birthday to me." He mumbled.

The noodles were, despite his initial impression, not bad, and he finished the contents of the bowl, even getting all the bits of garlic and fish at the bottom. The tea was not horrible, either, and he poured himself another cup. He swirled the tea in the cup, and watched the remnants of leaves circle the bottom. He remembered how his mother, when he was young, used to laughingly predict his future by the leaves left in the bottom of cups. He wondered if she could have predicted this – her son scarred and banished and sitting abandoned in a ratty little restaurant, alone, on his birthday.

And this wasn't even his _worst _birthday. The privilege of that title went to the first birthday after his mother's death. His father had been either unwilling to celebrate or unaware that it even _was_ his son's birthday, and so Zuko had gone the entire day without even a word of felicitations from anyone.

He poured himself another cup of tea. His life _sucked_. He could see that. He had tried to dance around it, but it was true. But, at least he had a goal – to make his life suck _less_.

Well, he could manage that. He was strong. He was a fighter. He never gave up. He drained his cup and refilled it.

A sea bird landed near him and looked at him with shifty eyes. He waved a hand at it. "Shoo, bird. Shoo. I don't have anything for you."

The bird continued staring at him.

"Shoo! Go away!" The woman came from behind Zuko, waving an apron at the bird, who flew away. "Get out of here!" She watched in satisfaction as the bird took off, then turned to Zuko. "And you. Time to go."

Zuko's face reflected annoyance. "I haven't finished my tea."

"Well, finish it and go. These tables are for people who are buying _food_."

"I bought food, remember? Your most _popular_ dish?" He indicated his empty bowl.

"Bah! That was _hours_ ago. Buy something else or get out!"

"It was not _hours _ago."

"Well, I say it was, Mr. _Firebender_!" She sneered. "So get your shiftless butt out of _my_ restaurant or buy something else to eat."

Zuko stood. "Forget it, you old hag! I wouldn't buy any more of your _lousy_ food if _you_ paid _me_!"

She hit Zuko with the apron she had waved at the bird, but Zuko caught it. "Unless you want that apron burned to cinders," he snarled, "keep it to yourself." He dropped it, and walked proudly from the restaurant.

_Great, Zuko_, he reflected as he left, _you, a prince of the Fire Nation, just got thrown our of a sleazy restaurant on your birthday_. _How much more humiliation can you take_?

It was starting to get dark as he left the port and he started wandering through the city. It was large – perhaps the largest that he had visited since being banished. However, as nighttime fell, the streets were nearly empty, and he did not know where to go. He was not afraid – he knew that he was a capable enough firebender to protect himself, should the need arise, but he did not relish the idea of spending another night outdoors – a night without even the benefit of a sleeping roll.

He passed shops and restaurants closed for the night, as well as small inns that he looked at with longing. It seemed a prosperous city, and he felt pleased by that – it proved that the Great March of Civilization was working, and was bringing good to the world.

He passed an alley, and heard a commotion within: cans banging, people calling out to one another, and – a meow? He stopped and retraced his steps. The end of the alley was dark, but, although conscious of the fact that dark alleys were often the location of misdeeds, he entered anyway.

He saw several shadows, and heard sounds of distress. He took a few running steps. "Hey, what's going on here?"

The shadows were startled, and Zuko could see, by the light of street lamps that illuminated just a little bit of the alley, that one of them dropped something.

''What are you doing?" Zuko demanded.

"N – nothing." The voice was a young one, younger even than Zuko himself.

"What did you just drop?"

The kids, three of them, looked at each other, and, with a silent message that stretched amongst them, they pushed past Zuko and ran off.

The prince considered going after them, but rejected that idea almost immediately. They were just children, and, besides, he wanted to know what they dropped. He brought forth a small flame and tilted it towards the ground. There, just where it had been dropped, was a huddled mass of fur. He extinguished his flame and went closer to it, walking slowly and carefully, but it darted off into the corner of the building. He followed, and hoped it wasn't a large rat.

He pushed away the crate it was behind, and peered at it in the darkness. It seemed to be a puma-cat kitten – a very small puma-cat kitten. "Aw, here, kitty." He stretched out his hand, but the cat shrunk back. "No, it's okay, kitty, kitty. I won't hurt you."

It was a measure of the cat's abject fear that it did not even attempt to defend itself when Zuko scooped it up. It was little more than fur and bones, and he cradled it against his breast armor. It struggled for a moment, but Zuko held it firmly. "It's okay, puss. I won't hurt you." He stroked its bony, little head. "I'll keep you safe from the bullies." He used the fingers of the hand that was holding it to rub its chest. "I hate bullies. Always have."

He walked out of the alley and into the brighter light of the gas street lamps. He examined the cat more thoroughly. It was very tiny and thin, but Zuko could not tell if it was extremely young or just starved. Its' black fur was matted and dirty, and there was a small cut by its left eye, which had dried blood around it. Zuko tried to ignore the irony, and shifted the kitten higher until it was tucked between his breast plate and his shoulder plate, where it could share Zuko's warmth.

"Now let's find you something to eat, little one."

Even though almost everything was dark, Zuko walked until he found a small restaurant that was still cleaning up. He walked to the counter, and the man behind it gave him an exasperated look. "We're closed, buddy."

"I'm just looking for something for my cat. It's pretty hungry."

The man gave the little scrap a glance. "Are you sure it's alive?"

Zuko was indignant. "Of course it's alive."

The man was unconvinced, but shrugged. "I can give you some scraps of fish."

"Are they cooked?"

The man's brows rose. "Why? Is your cat picky?"

The prince blushed. "I'll take it."

"Yeah. Okay." The man rooted around the cooking area and came back with a cooked fish head and some mushy skin, on a leaf.

"Thanks." Zuko accepted the bundle and gave the man one of his last coins. At the smell of the food, the kitten began mewling plaintively.

"I guess it's alive." The man gave a small smile, as well, and turned back to cleaning.

Trying to juggle the fish scraps and a kitten that suddenly seemed to have six legs, Zuko made his way out to the street. He sat down at the corner of the building and, unfolding the leaf on his leg, he allowed the kitten to dig into the fish.

He was amazed at the animal's appetite, and at its' ability to tear through the fish head. Zuko rubbed the cat's head as it ate. "Remind me not to let you get your teeth into me." He chuckled, and allowed the kitten to eat its fill.

After several minutes, the cat sat down on Zuko's knee, and brought up a paw to lick. Zuko smiled affectionately, and gave the kitten's engorged belly a light poke. The cat responded by sinking its tiny claws into Zuko's hand, and Zuko gave a low laugh.

"I deserve that." He pried the cat off his skin, and put the animal up against him as he stood. "Now let's go find some place to sleep."

They wandered through the city, and Zuko decided to go back to the port. Perhaps his ship had returned.

No such luck, though, and Zuko left the port, and came to a large park, and wandered into it. He found a tall tree, with generous, sheltering limbs, and settled down against it. The little cat squirmed out of his hands, but only to curl up in his lap. He stroked the animal with a single finger, and fell asleep with his hand resting lightly over its tail.

"Hey. Hey, you. Wake up!"

Zuko's eyes fluttered open, and he looked up to see a Fire Nation soldier poking him with a spear. He pushed it away with irritation.

The man crossed his arms. "You can't sleep here. There's no vagrancy in this park."

Zuko sat up and rubbed his eyes. "I'm not a vagrant. I'm –" he stopped. _Why bother, Zuko_? He asked himself. _No one is going to believe that the prince of the Fire Nation is sleeping in a park_. "Never mind."

He nodded, and scrambled to his feet, dislodging the kitten, who tumbled to the ground with a loud cry. Zuko scooped it up, and, with one last hostile look at the soldier, he started to walk off.

"Hey, wait! Why're you wearing _Fire Nation_ armor? Have you deserted?"

Zuko turned to him. "What? No!" He scowled. "Don't be ridiculous! I'm not a soldier. And, if I were, I would _never_ desert. _Ever_."

"So you want to tell me why you're wearing a Fire Nation uniform if you're not in the army?"

Zuko opened his mouth to speak, but shut it again. He had no proof of who he was. _Well_, he thought, _that was stupid, Zuko_. He clenched his jaw.

The man came up to Zuko and peered at him closely. "How old are you?"

Zuko realized how silly he looked clutching a tiny cat, but he drew himself up. "Fifteen."

"Fifteen. Go home."

"That's my goal."

The man nodded. "No more sleeping in the park."

"No, Sir." He watched as the man walked away, and he gave a sigh of relief. He had never been so happy to be underage.

He spent the rest of the night moving around, catching a snatch of sleep here and there. The kitten ran off twice, although not far, and he was able to retrieve it both times. He finally returned to the dock near daybreak, curled up on a pile of rope, and, despite the rising sun, he fell asleep.

For the second time in six hours, he was shaken awake. This time, it was Iroh who had a hand on his shoulder. The old man's face was wreathed in a huge smile.

"Prince Zuko! Thank the spirits that you are all right!" He tried to hug Zuko, but the prince held up a hand.

"Not now, Uncle. Let me get up." He scrambled to his feet.

"I am _very _sorry that we left you behind, Zuko! It was my fault entirely!"

"Yes, I am certain that it was." He brushed himself off.

Just then, there was a weak meow from the pile of rope, and Zuko bent down to grab the kitten.

Iroh's smile grew. "And what is this, Nephew?"

"A birthday gift I gave myself."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Welcome a new member to Zuko's fractured family - his puma-kitten, who shall be named later. I know what you are all thinking "there's no cat on Zuko's ship during the series!" Well, patience, kind readers! All will be explained! We also get to see another Zuko birthday, which means we are getting ever closer to Lan's reunion with him! Thank you all for reading this - and I think you will be pleased with the twists and turns up ahead!


	13. Chapter 13

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN _NICKELODEON'S AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER_ OR ITS CHARACTERS. I just toast the fire flakes for the Ember Island Players' performances**

* * *

"Welcome home! Oh, welcome home!" Ming was almost beside herself with excitement as she ran out to greet Fai and Lan Chi. She gave her husband a hug and a kiss, and turned to take Lan in a deathgrip of a hug.

"I have missed you both so much!" She put Lan away from her. "You've grown!" She poked her niece's breast experimentally, and Lan gave a squeak of protest. "My, how you're _grown_!" Her brows arched up.

"Aunt Ming!"

"Welcome home," Fai said under his breath, and turned to speak to the coachman.

Changda climbed down from her perch, and bowed to Ming. "Good afternoon, my lady."

Ming put a hand on Changda's arm. "Welcome home, Changda. You must be tired. Why don't you go inside and get yourself a cup of tea? _All_ of the servants are _dying _to hear about your adventures."

Changda nodded gratefully, and went inside, and Ming gave Lan another hug. "And you must tell me about all of your adventures, as well!" She turned to Fai. "Shall I put a pot of tea on, Fai, my love?"

"Yes, thank you, dear. I'll be in as soon as I get this all sorted out." He always took responsibility for making certain that the transcripts and law books were transported safely, and now wanted to oversee their removal to his study.

"Good. That will give me a chance to chat with Lan Chi." She smiled at her niece.

"You mean interrogate her." He said dryly, and turned to Lan Chi. "She's more excited to see you than she is to see me!" His words were serious, but his twinkling eyes were not.

Ming slapped him on the shoulder playfully. "That is because Lan Chi is not _nearly_ as vexing as you are!"

He laughed, and pressed a kiss on her cheek. "I am glad that you have not lost your cutting wit, being left here alone."

"Who says that I was alone?" She replied archly, and dragged Lan into the house. "I am _so happy_ that you are home, Lan. It has been _dreadfully _boring without you here." She stopped by the kitchen to order the tea, and all the servants gathered there greeted Lan with glad greetings and hugs. "Excuse us, but I _must_ show Lady Lan Chi the sitting room."

"Oh, yes!" Lan waved as Ming Yi propelled her away, "I forgot that you were going to redecorate."

"Not _redecorate_, my dear. _Re-imagine_."

Lan's eyes opened wide as she entered the sitting room. "Oh, my, Aunt Ming, it's – beautiful." The sitting room, which had been quite lovely, done in all dark woods with the traditional Fire Nation red for upholstery, now had its furniture upholstered in a stunning gold, with red only in the accents.

"Thank you. Literally. I have you to thank for giving me the courage to use a color _other_ than red."

"Me?" Lan looked at her, astounded.

"Yes. You always wear the colors that you _like_, not what others think that you should wear, and I decided that, if you can do that, so can I. Besides," she smiled, "my very _good _friend, Chou, is going to be _green_ with envy. And that, dear girl, _is _my favorite color."

Lan laughed. "Oh, Aunt Ming, you are terrible."

She shrugged. "I have been told that. Rather recently, in fact. But I ignore them." She smiled again.

A maid brought in the tea, and Ming poured for them.

"You must tell me absolutely everything – everything you did, everyone you saw." She took a sip of tea. "Whether Fai flirted with any of the wives."

Lan nearly choked on her tea. "Uncle Fai? _Flirt_? Aunt Ming, you must have him confused with someone who does _not _live in terror of you."

"Oh, well!" Ming seemed offended.

"I'm just kidding. Actually, no, I'm not. But, besides being a _little_ scared of you, he also loves you desperately."

Ming smiled. "Really?"

"Of course. He missed you _terribly_."

"Did he?" She asked in wonder.

"Of course? Did you ever doubt that?"

She looked sheepish. "I suppose not." She had a dreamy smile on her face for a few seconds, then she shook her head, as if to clear it. "Now enough about us! Tell me, how did you like the all of the colonies? How did you do with the transcription?"

Lan obliged her, telling her all about all of the towns and cities that they had gone to, as well as her adventures as Fai's scribe. Fai came in during this time, and joined in the conversation, relaying witty anecdotes about their journey.

"My goodness, look at the time!" He finished his tea, and stood. "I must let the courthouse know that I have returned. They will want me to get them all of the transcripts as soon as possible."

"Do you need my help, Uncle Fai?"

He shook his head. "No, no. Not at all. You organized them for me marvelously. You just sit with Ming a bit longer. Let her talk _your _ear off." He pressed an affectionate kiss to his wife's cheek, and walked across the room. He stopped in the doorway, and turned to her. "By the way, I like gold."

"Ha! I knew that you would!" Ming called after him, and, from the hallway, he laughed.

Ming turned to Lan Chi. "Wait until he sees the bedroom. I hope that he likes brown."

"What color do you hope _I'll_ like, Aunt Ming?"

Ming's hands flew up to her cheeks. "Oh, that's right. You haven't seen your room yet!"

"I'm a little scared to."

"Scared? Don't you trust me?"

"Implicitly. I just don't want to walk into a sea of – _pink_, or something like that."

"That would be funny. But no – I wouldn't do that to you."

"Thank you. Not that there is anything wrong with pink." She hastened to add.

"You just don't want to be awash in it."

"Exactly."

"Well, let me finish this cup of tea and I will reveal to you the magic of your room." She brought the cup to her lips.

"Deal." Lan, too, took a sip of her tea, and, when she put the cup down, there was a thoughtful look on her face. "Aunt Ming, you haven't – heard from Uncle Iroh or – Zuko," she looked at her aunt hopefully, "have you?"

Aunt Ming shook her head ruefully. "No. I'm sorry."

Lan shrugged. "I didn't think that you would. I was just – hoping."

Ming laid a hand on Lan's. "Perhaps for your birthday next month."

"Maybe." She sighed.

"I'm certain that Iroh will send you some – word."

"Yeah." She looked down at her hands. "I'm sure _he _will."

"But not Zuko?"

She inhaled and exhaled a long, deep breath. "No. Probably not. And, if the only thing he sends his _best wishes_, I'd rather hear nothing at all."

"It's hard when love dies."

Lan gave her aunt a fulminating look. "Thank you, Aunt Ming. I needed to hear that."

Ming had the good grace to blush. "I'm sorry, dear, it's just that," she sighed, trying to find the right words. "When you forget about Zuko, you seem as if you could be _happy_. But, whenever you are reminded of him, you're thrown back into this deep – _funk_, and I don't like it."

Lan flushed angrily. "Well, pardon me if my misery _displeases_ you."

"Oh, Lan, do let's not fight. I just mean that I _want_ you to be happy, and its upsets me when you are not."

Lan gave a deep sigh. "I know. I _try_ to be happy. I _really _do. But – I still love him, Aunt Ming. I haven't stopped. And, if he has stopped loving me – I don't know what I'll do."

Ming put her hand on Lan's cheek in a gesture of comfort. "You would do what you have been doing for the past year. You would _live_. You would work with Fai, and ride your horse, and practice your martial arts and archery, and you would learn to cook. And, sooner or later, you would find someone else to love. Someone who loves you back so much that you would not even think it possible. And you would remember your time with Zuko as just a pleasant memory."

Lan shrugged. "I don't know."

"Give it time. You have enough of that, after all."

"Yes, I suppose I do."

Ming patted her cheek gently. "Now let's go see your room."

* * *

Lan was pleasantly surprised by her new room. She had new furniture in a light wood, and the linens in the room, as well as the upholstery, were shades of light blue.

"Oh, Aunt Ming. It's beautiful!" She ran her hand along the vanity.

Ming beamed at her. "I thought that you would like it."

"I do. Thank you."

"It's so much brighter in here than it was."

"Yes, it is. Happier." She smiled at her niece.

"All part of your plan?"

"Yes. My dastardly plan to make you happy."

"You are evil, Aunt Ming. Absolutely evil."

"I have been told that."

* * *

Lan, with Ming pushing her, resumed her schedule. She was actually glad to do so – she found that, with a busy life, she had little time to think about Zuko. In truth, she was thinking about him too much, and she attributed that to her conversation with her aunt and to the fact that Zuko's birthday was in a few days. His second birthday without her. _Come off it, Lan Chi_, she told herself. _He had __**no**__birthdays __**with**__you. You never celebrated with him, after all_.

That, of course, did not mean that she had not planned to celebrate with him, for the rest of his life. She had planned to share everything with him. Now she shared nothing.

Upon her return from progress, Ming had noticed that most of Lan's clothing was a bit too tight on her, and so decided that a new wardrobe was in order.

"Oh, not again!" Lan groaned.

"What do you mean? I've never bought you more than a few things, here and there."

"I just got a whole new wardrobe from Uncle Iroh."

"Really?" Ming was skeptical. "And when was this?"

Lan stopped to think. "When – I came home from the academy."

"A year and a half ago."

"Well, yes, but –" she indicated her closet, "all of my clothes are in _very_ good shape, Aunt Ming. I didn't even get any ink on them while I was gone!"

"Well, that _is_ true, but, to be frank, Lan, they don't fit you anymore."

"They _do_."

"Lan Chi Sun! They do not! Your breasts are about to pop out every time you reach for anything!"

"They are not. I wear breast bindings."

"I think you need bigger breast bindings, too."

"Aunt Ming!" Lan was scandalized.

Ming threw her hands up in frustration. "It's a part of life, Lan Chi! You have gotten _breasts_ and _hips_, and you can barely close your robes – even with breast bindings on." She pointed at Lan. "And be prepared, young lady. You are going to attract the attention of every young man in Lao Hai."

"Really? Every young man? Please don't exaggerate."

"I'm not. Let me see." She held up her fingers. "You're beautiful." She ticked it off.

"I am not!"

"Don't protest too much, Lan Chi. It makes it seem as if you are fishing for compliments."

Lan gave an aggrieved groan.

"You're rich."

"I am rich." Lan acknowledged.

"You come from a _very_ good family."

"If you do say so yourself."

"Exactly. And, you have _incredible _connections through Iroh."

"Right." Lan held up her own hand. "Let me tell you what else I have. The Fire Lord as a sworn enemy." She ticked it off.

"Oh, well."

"Freakishly _red _hair."

"It's not _freakish_ – unusual, perhaps."

"And a Water Tribe mother."

"As if anyone besides Ozai cares about that."

"Well, if they _knew_, they might care."

"Why should we tell them? Besides, once they got you into bed, they wouldn't care about anything but _that_!"

"Ah! Ming! _Why_ are you torturing me like this?"

"Torture?" Ming rolled her eyes. "Lan Chi, I would be remiss as your guardian if I didn't teach you the facts of life."

Lan groaned. "I know all about how babies are made, thank you very much."

"Well, of course you do. But the _true_ facts of life."

Lan Chi looked at her blankly, and Ming sighed. "Women have very little power in our world, Lan, despite what you may see. Sure, there are women officers in the army, and women in the work force. But power, _true_ power, for women, comes through their men."

"Well, I'm out of luck, aren't I? Because I haven't a man – nor shall I."

"You do not have one _now._ But pretend, for the moment, that you have one – let's say it's Zuko, since that seems to be your fondest wish."

"Aunt Ming, I don't know if I want to –"

"Hush. Listen to your elder."

"Fine." Lan said truculently.

"There is an old Fire Nation saying that you may not have heard."

"I may have. Uncle Iroh is full of them."

"Uncle Iroh is full of a lot of things."

Lan giggled.

"Now listen. The saying goes: _nature has given women so much power that the law has wisely given them very little_."

"That's horrible!"

"Yes, it is. But, although we have so little legal power, we do have immense power in other ways. Power over men."

"Sounds a bit like witchcraft."

"Don't be foolish." She smiled. "It's much more powerful than witchcraft."

Lan was wary. "Oh?"

"If a man is attracted to a woman, whether it be his wife or concubine, she can _own _him, if she so desires."

"So you're saying that I can get Zuko – my pretend husband – to do anything I want him to do because he is _attracted_ to me?"

"Basically."

She crossed her arms. "Well, then, _real-world _Zuko must not have been attracted to me, because I _wanted _him to choose _me _over his father, and he did not."

"Hmmm. Perhaps Zuko was a poor example."

"He's the only example that counts, to me."

"Of course, you were both only thirteen at the time."

"So?"

"So – I'm talking about _men_ and _women_, not children."

"You're very confusing."

"I'm not trying to be. Let me see if I can put this more simply." Ming thought on it a moment, then snapped her fingers. "Sex."

"Oh, dear."

"Sex is the root of a woman's power over a man. Our ability to allow it or withhold it. You may not know it now, Lan, but _sex_ is the thing that occupies men's minds. It influences their behavior. It controls their actions."

"Even Uncle Fai?"

"Yes, even Fai. Even Iroh."

"Ewww. I think we need to change the subject."

"My point, Lan Chi, is that a woman can bend a man to her will. And a woman behind a man of power has much, much more_ power _than anyone could ever imagine."

"And you want me to be that – a woman behind a man of power?"

"I don't _want _ that, Lan. _You _want that."

"No, I don't."

"Don't you want Zuko?"

"Of course. More than anything."

"And isn't he to be the most powerful man in the world?"

"So you want me to try to control the future Fire Lord?"

"You should want that. You can effect change, Lan Chi. And you can make your dreams come true. If you're willing to use what the spirits have given you."

"Sex."

"Your body. Your intelligence. Your _feminine charms_. They can influence much – including men who don't have an overt attraction to you."

"I don't understand."

"There are men who will _defer_ to you just because you are a woman – men who idolize women, who put women on a pedestal. And, as a beautiful woman, you are apt to have even more men than most falling over themselves to do your bidding."

"It's like mind control."

"Ha! If you want to think of it that way. It's definitely control of something!"

"Aunt Ming, why are you telling me all of this again?"

Ming was quiet for a moment, thinking. "Because you need new clothes?"

* * *

"We have a surprise for you."

Lan looked up from her dinner, a smile on her face. "Aunt Ming, my birthday isn't until next week."

Her aunt turned to Fai, and patted his hand. "You remember Kang, Fai's scribe?"

"How could I forget? How are his arms?"

"Wrists." Ming corrected.

Fai interrupted. "Better."

Lan nodded. "Good. That's wonderful."

"And, while he was sick – laid up, he had a frequent visitor – his fourth cousin, Cho Hee." It was Ming again.

Lan was confused. "All right..."

"It seems that Cho Hee had quite a little crush on him when she was a young girl." Ming continued.

"That's – nice, I guess."

"Anyway, they hit it off, and, well, they're getting married!" Ming was all smiles.

Lan looked between the two of them. "And that's my surprise? I guess I should say – thank you?"

Ming laughed. "That's not your surprise."

"Aunt Ming, I am very confused right now."

"Well, Kang's father is a judge living in Caldera, and he wants to give Kang a job so..."

"So?" Lan prompted.

"So they are moving to the capital!"

"I still don't see how this relates to a surprise for me."

"Well, Fai no longer has a scribe – at all. And..."

"And?" Lan prompted her again.

"And Fai would like you to act as a scribe on a permanent basis!"

"Really?" Lan turned to her uncle.

Fai was smiling. "Yes. I would like you to. If you want to, that is."

"Yes, I would." She turned to her aunt. "But, Ming, how do you feel about it?"

Ming reached out and grabbed her hand impulsively. "How do I feel about it? I think it's wonderful!"

"But – but I'll be away from you!"

Ming looked confused now. "What? Oh, no, Lan! You misunderstand! I will be going with you!"

Ming looked at Fai and smiled, and then turned back to Lan Chi with the same smile.

Lan wasn't certain, but she thought she saw her uncle grimace.

* * *

"Prince Zuko, I do not think that we can avoid it anymore."

Zuko gave his uncle a distracted look, and removed the kitten from his lap. "I know. She gets on the table entirely too much."

The cat, whom Zuko had named Taxiao, walked over to Iroh.

His uncle chuckled, and scratched the animal behind the ears. "No, not that."

In the weeks since Zuko had found the cat in Yu Dao, she had more than tripled her original weight, and, although the cut by her eye had healed, a small scar had been left behind. She had easily found many admirers among the crew, including the cook, who had declared that she was an answer to a prayer, since the rat population on the ship had become larger and more daring.

The cat, of course, was still too small to catch anything but the tiniest rodent, but the cook had high hopes for her.

She also, inexplicably, liked tea, and so she had found a companion in Uncle Iroh, who allowed the little cat to lap from his cup. And, serendipitously, she preferred ginseng, which endeared her to Iroh even more.

Still, despite all of her allies onboard, she preferred to sleep with Zuko. And, had Zuko admitted it, he liked her presence. It gave him a measure of comfort to know that there was another living creature in his cabin, and it gave him a measure of self-confidence to know that she preferred his company to all others.

Iroh did not object when Taxiao leapt onto the table and began drinking from his cup. "It's Lao Hai."

Zuko stiffened. Lao Hai was where Lan Chi lived. "What about it?"

"We avoided going there the last time we were near, but I do not think we should do so again."

"I don't want to see her. How many times must I tell you that I have no interest in seeing her?"

"Be that as it may, Lao Hai is at the base of a mountain range that could very well be hiding the avatar."

At this, Zuko was silent. He could not refute the truth in that. He had noticed those mountains on maps several times, and had wondered at his own wisdom in refusing to go to Lao Hai. Still, he could_ not_ see Lan Chi. He could not. He did not know what he would do. Break down and cry? Still be so besotted that he would throw away his mission for her? Drag her to the nearest registry office and marry her? Drag her to the nearest bedroom and make love to her until they were both insensible? Spirits knew that's what he wanted to do – all of it. But he could not. He was prince of the Fire Nation – one day to be Fire Lord, and that was what he would offer her. She deserved to be a queen, married to a man who would rule the world, not to an exile who ruled only an obsolete war ship. If she even wanted him anymore. He now looked so ghastly that he could not believe that she would ever consent to even touch him again, let alone marry him.

He shook his head. "I can't, Uncle. I just _can't_."

Iroh had been prepared for this. "You need not see her, Zuko. She is not everywhere in Lao Hai, and she will not, of course, be in the mountains."

"And you?" Zuko looked at him, his eyes piercing and clear. "Would you see her?"

Iroh stroked Taxiao idly. "I do not see why not. It _is_ her birthday soon, after all, and I would like to surprise her."

Zuko looked down into his teacup. "You would not encourage her to – to see me?"

"If you do not wish it."

Zuko stood abruptly. "I do not wish it. But I'll have Jee set the course." He left quickly, his heels clicking sharply and stiffly as he walked away.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Ming Yi decided to give Lan Chi some sage advice – be the power behind the throne, keep men twisted around her finger, etc. Let's see if Lan takes her advice to heart. Of course, she has no one to "twist" right now. By the way, the "old Fire Nation saying" actually came from Samuel Johnson, in his letter to Dr. Taylor (18 August 1763).


	14. Chapter 14

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN _NICKELODEON'S AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER_ OR ITS CHARACTERS. I just live on the Island of Nunya (Nunya Business)!**

* * *

"So, are you ready?"

Lan stood and threw down the book she had been reading. "Of course I'm ready. I've been ready for an hour. _We've _been waiting for _you_, Aunt Ming."

Ming looked around the front room. "But where's Fai?"

"He went out to the carriage. He said that you might hurry if you heard the horses."

"Bah! I wanted to make certain that Ahmi had packed everything." Ahmi was her ladies' maid, and was not accompanying her mistress on the progress. Changda, Ming Yi had insisted, could dress both her and Lan, and, besides, Changda needed the additional experience.

"Well, let's go. You know Uncle Fai _hates_ to be late." Lan took her aunt's arm and propelled her towards the door.

"He need to be less high-strung. It's not as if the boat will leave without us."

"Of course it will! They have a schedule to keep, too."

The carriage had been pulled up to the front of the house, and Lan urged Ming down the stairs quickly.

Fai stood before the carriage, tapping his foot impatiently.

"Finally! Ming! Did you pack everything you own?" He indicated the large pile of cases being strapped to the top of the carriage.

She patted his cheek affectionately. "Don't be silly. But I did have to pack enough robes for all the parties we will be attending."

The footman opened the door, and Ming climbed inside.

As Lan was about to do the same, Fai stopped her with a hand on her arm. "Was this the kind of birthday you expected, Lan Chi?"

She smiled. "I have learned to expect _anything_ when it involves Aunt Ming."

He chuckled. "She is one of a kind."

She sat on the seat opposite Ming, next to Changda, who had been waiting within. Fai settled himself next to his wife, and the carriage began its short journey to the port. Once there, they alighted from the carriage, and Lan walked around to the vehicle's rear. Jiaonen, Lan's horse, was being untied by the groom. Lan had decided to bring the bird with her, and Fai had acquiesced, knowing that Lan would enjoy riding during the overland parts of the journey.

"Hey, girl," Lan cooed to the animal. "You're going on a big boat now, but everything will be fine, I promise. It's just a two day voyage."

Ming heard her. "Thank goodness for that! I haven't been on a ship in twenty years." She sighed, and stroked the horse's head. "I am not looking forward to the seasickness."

"I have your draughts, my lady." Changda reached into a large satchel, and pulled out a small glass bottle.

Ming waved it away. "Thank you, Changda, but I don't need it now. In a half hour or so, though." She turned back to her niece. "I intend to be insensible for this entire time I am on this hideous vessel." She saw her husband raise a brow at her, and she laughed. "Don't worry, Fai! I am certain that I will sleep the entire time!"

"Good. I do not want a repeat of our honeymoon." He turned to Lan Chi. "We went to a little spa in the Earth Kingdom, but, unfortunately, it was a full week to get there by boat, and she took _only_ enough of her sleeping draught to make her tipsy, not put her to sleep." He smiled at the memory. "I cam back to our cabin, and she was dancing through the corridor in only her breast bindings and drawers." Ming slapped him on the arm playfully. "As I recall, she was singing _Fire Nation, We Beseech Thee_ at midnight."

"It was _not _midnight. It was just a little past dinner."

"Hmm. That's not how I remember it."

"Your memory is faulty." Ming sniffed, and took Lan's arm. "Come now, let's go find our cabins. Fai will look after the horse."

Lan looked concerned. "Uncle Fai, will you? Do you mind?"

"Not at all. Please help your aunt get settled."

"I think it's far too late for anyone to settle Aunt Ming."

* * *

Because Lan's birthday fell on the day that they boarded the ship, and because, true to her word, Ming Yi medicated herself all the way to their destination, and thus avoided seasickness entirely, it was decided that Lan Chi's birthday was best celebrated once they reached their destination.

However, the morning of her birthday, Ming and Fai had presented her gift to her at breakfast: a beautiful set of Water Tribe scrolls that Ming had found in an antique shop.

Lan exclaimed over them, and Ming blushed in pleasure. "I knew that you would like them," she smiled at Lan over the breakfast table after the requisite birthday breakfast had been consumed. "Some of them are Water Tribe history, and some show actual waterbending – I know you can't use them, of course, but they are so pretty that I could not resist them."

_Oh, I can use them_, Lan thought as she grinned at her aunt and uncle. "Thank you – both, so much! They are wonderful! Beautiful!" She got up and gave them both hugs and kisses.

"You are very welcome." Fai's voice was gruff with pleasure. "Enjoy them."

"Oh, I shall! I shall! And it will give me something to read on the ship. Besides the law books, of course." She hastily added.

Fai chuckled. "You needn't study the law books constantly, Lan Chi. After all, you're an _experienced _scribe now."

Lan shrugged. "I suppose. But I want to show everyone that a woman can do as good a job as a man, and, for that, I must do a _better_ job than a man."

"Work twice as hard for half the credit, eh?" Fai looked at her sagely.

"Something like that."

"Well, I give you permission to spend as much time as you like reading your birthday present."

Lan dimpled. "Thank you, Uncle Fai. You are the best of men."

"Don't tell him that," Ming admonished. "He'll get a swollen head."

Fai patted his wife's thigh affectionately. "Don't worry, dear. I have you to bring me back to Earth."

Ming smiled at him. "That's what a wife is for, darling."

* * *

"Ah, Daejeon Ju. Fai, we've haven't been here since –" Ming sat back in the carriage to think. "Since..."

"Since the children were little."

This was actually the third day that they were in Daejeon Ju, one of the larger cities in Fai's jurisdiction, but it was the first day that Ming felt recovered enough from her nausea medication to join them for dinner, and they were presently driving through the heart of the city to a restaurant that had been recommended to them.

"Yes." Ming snapped her fingers. "That's right. The time your mother came to stay with them." She turned to Lan Chi. "Poor woman vowed never to babysit them again. They were _terrible _miscreants."

"Four boys and one girl. We should not have left Mother alone with them." Fai shook his head.

"Nerves shattered." Ming nodded.

Lan laughed. "I'm sure you're exaggerating."

Ming smiled. "Maybe. Fai's mother was always _delicate_."

Fai ignored that statement, although he did roll his eyes.

"Oh, look, Fai!" Ming put a hand on her husband's arm. "The opera house!" She turned to her husband. "May we go while we are here?" Without waiting for a response, she turned to her niece. "We saw the most _wonderful _opera there." Back to Fai. "Do you think that they perform the same compositions?"

"It's only been twenty years since we were here – I'm certain _everything_ is the same."

Ming slapped him lightly on the arm. "Stop teasing so!" To Lan Chi, she said, "he is being horrible, but it was a lovely evening. We shall definitely take you there."

Lan looked between them. "I – I don't know, Aunt Ming. If Uncle Fai wants to go, and, if we have time, of course..."

"Fai wants to go! And I am certain that we shall have time! Won't we, Fai?"

He smiled. "Of course, dear."

"Good. That's settled." She beamed at the both of them. "When are we getting to that restaurant? I am _starving_."

* * *

Ming secured opera tickets for them on the last night of their stay in Daejeon Ju, and she insisted that Fai finish his court cases as early as possible so that he and Lan might bathe and dress before attending the performance. Changda scrubbed at the ink stains on Lan Chi's fingers for nearly a quarter of an hour before deciding that her mistress's hands were presentable, and dressed her in a a robe of midnight blue edged with dark gray. She dressed Lan's hair with a braid along her hairline and the rest in an intricate knot at the back, and called herself pleased with Lan Chi's appearance.

Ming was already ready, in a lovely black robe edged with red, having been assisted by Changda earlier, and, exclaiming over Lan, bustled her niece and her husband into the carriage.

"Oh, this will be fun! Won't it, Fai?"

"I think so. I haven't see an opera in quite a long time."

"And Lan Chi has _never_ seen one – and all those years living in Caldera City, where they have absolutely _the_ best opera company in the world!"

Lan smiled. "I'm sure I'll see one there someday."

"This opera will not be _nearly_ as well done, but it is one of the best. You should enjoy it."

"I'm sure I shall."

"Now, I must tell you that etiquette at Fire Nation operas is rather peculiar."

"Etiquette?"

"Yes. It is all very _circumscribed_, and very formal. Opera adheres to the old ways of segregating the genders. It used to be worse, of course. When I was a child, men and women were not allowed to sit in the same box together! Now, however, the genders are allowed to mingle – except during intermission."

"Really?"

"Yes. It is odd, I own, but that's the way it has always been."

"So, what does one do during intermission?"

"Well, each floor has its own lounging area, with private parlors, as well as a communal area, and you either engage a private parlor in which to drink tea, or you sit in the public area, and chat and drink tea with others." She nudged Lan Chi. "We'll be in the public area tonight. I want us to _see_ and be _seen_ by the other women."

Fai sighed. "Just don't miss the warning gong." He turned to Lan. "She has been known to talk right through the warning gong and into the beginning of the second act."

"Lan will tell me when the gong sounds. Won't you, Lan?"

"Of course, Aunt Ming. I will be your alarm."

They pulled up outside the opera house and alighted, and Lan looked up at the building. It was a magnificent structure, with broad stairs leading to a wide set of entrance doors, an ornately carved lintel above the doors, and a roof richly tiled in red with fluted corners. Throngs of people were filing up the steps, and they joined the crowd.

"We have a few minutes before the opera starts." Ming smiled as they ascended.

"Time to see and be seen?"

"Definitely. Let's see who we know." She put her arm through Fai's, winked at Lan, And led the way up to the entrance.

The lobby of the building was as beautiful as the exterior, with high ceilings and dozens of exquisitely painted lanterns lining the room, giving it a rosy, intimate glow. Richly attired patrons mingled, glasses of wine in hand, and there was a general hubbub of happy conversations.

"Fai Liang! And Lady Ming Yi! Never tell me that you have come to honor our humble city with your presence!" A voice hailed them, and they turned in that direction.

A man of Fai's years, but dressed in the rich uniform of a general, came forward with a bow.

"Chang-Su Jeung! My word! It has been _years_!" Fai clasped the man's shoulders in affection.

"It has! Ming Yi! My lady, you are as radiant as ever!"

"Chang-Su! My goodness! I haven't seen you since –"

"My wedding!"

"Yes. Is Ae-Cha here?"

"No, unfortunately. She is visiting her mother. She's been ailing, you see."

"Oh, I am sorry!"

"Thank you. But how are you? I heard of your loss. I am _so_ very sorry." The general put his hand over his heart.

Although a grim look passed over Fai's face, he smiled. "Thank you. We are getting better."

"I am so glad."

There was a moment of silence, which Ming Yi broke. "But look at you! A general!"

"I had heard, of course," Fai interjected. "Congratulations!"

"Thank you. Thank you. Five years now. And Daejeon Ju is my garrison."

"I had no idea!" Fai smiled.

"Oh, yes, and it is the best posting I have ever had. A better group of soldiers I could not have asked for. I'll take you on a little tour after the opera. And who have we here?" He caught sight of Lan out of the corner of his eye, and turned to her.

"Oh, silly me!" Ming smiled. "This is my niece, Lady Lan Chi Sun."

Lan bowed to the man. "I am honored to make your acquaintance, General Seung."

"This is Yan's daughter?" He was astounded. "My girl! I knew your father when you were but a glimmer in his eye!" He sobered. "He was one of the greatest men I have ever known."

She had heard that many times, but never grew tired of hearing it. "Thank you." She bowed again.

Just then, the warning gong sounded for the beginning of the performance, and the general, after making plans to meet Fai for intermission, left to take his seat.

Ming, Fai, and Lan Chi did the same, with the older woman chattering excitedly about meeting their old friend, until the curtain rose, and she fell quiet.

Lan Chi was enthralled by the opera. In fact, she loved it. The music, the costumes, the scenery, the masks, the formal, archaic language of the lyrics, the soaring voices – all of it. It sent chills up her spine. It hypnotized her. When the curtain came down on the first act and the house lights came up, she sat back, disappointed.

"Th – that's not it, is it?"

Ming smiled at her. "No, of course not. It's time for intermission." She turned to Fai. "We will see you at the beginning of the second act."

He kissed her cheek. "Don't be late."

"We shan't be. I promise."

The two women made their way to the women-only parlor to find it already crowded.

"Do you see a table?" Ming asked Lan Chi.

"You'll have more luck than I, Aunt Ming – being taller."

"I suppose. Oh, there's one!" She dragged Lan halfway across the room, and plunked her down at a small table. "Save it. I'll be right back." She started to walk off.

"Where are you going?"

"To get tea, of course!" Ming threw back over her shoulder.

Lan groaned, and slumped in her seat. She did not want to sit at this tiny table, by herself, in this sea of women. And strange women at that!

"Pardon me, are you using this chair?"

A woman who seemed about ten years older indicated the third chair at the table, and Lan shook her head. "No. You can take it."

The woman smiled and bowed. "Thank you." She took the chair and disappeared.

Lan sighed, and, leaning on her elbows, watched as everyone around her greeted friends and laughed and chatted and had fun, while she sat, conspicuously, alone. _It's amazing_, she thought, _how alone you can be in a room full of people_.

She noticed how people looked at her, at her hair, at her clothes, and judged her – _stay away from her, _their eyes seemed to say. _She's strange_! _Just **look **at her hair! Where is **she**__from? Not Fire Nation, surely_!

Aunt Ming was standing before her suddenly, interrupting her thoughts. She was carrying a tray with a pot and two cups on it. "Oolong. Iroh would not approve," she set the tray down and shrugged, "but he's not here."

"No. He isn't."

Ming shrugged. "He would like the opera, though."

"I don't remember him ever going to the opera." She watched as Ming poured tea for them both.

"He used to. He and Su Hsing loved it."

"I didn't know that."

"Hmm. We old people are full of surprises."

"Aunt Ming, you're not old."

"I may not be _old_, but I am getting older. And, you know, I really would like you settled before I am too old to enjoy planning your wedding."

"Aunt Ming..." Lan shook her head.

"You know, one of the reasons why I wanted Fai to take you along as his scribe was so that you could get out, meet some nice young men. Since you didn't hit it off with Mo."

"I _did_ hit it off with Mo. I just," she shrugged. "wasn't interested."

"So I thought you might be interested in some other nice young man."

Lan's lips compressed, and her aunt sighed. "I know. I know. You aren't interested in _any_ young man."

A small, sad smile came to Lan's face. "I am. You know the one."

"Couldn't you find a more _suitable_ boy to fall in love with?"

"More suitable than the heir to the throne?"

"Yes! You know that you are asking for a lifetime of problems by marrying into that family."

"Well, don't worry. I probably will never get the chance to, so it's a moot point."

"I don't know whether to hope that you get that chance or hope that you _don't _get that chance."

Lan gave a rueful smile. "Me, neither."

The warning gong sounded, and Ming stomped her foot. "Blast! I didn't even get to gossip with anyone. Oh, well." She stood. "Let's get back to our seats. Won't Fai be surprised if we get there before he does?"

* * *

The rest of the opera was wonderful, and Lan Chi enjoyed it immensely. Indeed, she was disappointed when it finally ended.

Her uncle had made arrangements with General Jeung to go on a brief tour of the garrison, which was adjacent to the opera house, and they met him at the head of the stairs in front of the hall.

He bowed and smiled as they approached him. "Lady Lan Chi, did you enjoy your first opera?"

"Oh, yes, Sir. Vastly. I had no idea the opera could be so diverting!"

He laughed. "It is that. We are very fortunate here in Daejeon Ju. We have a superior company – the artistic director of the opera is quite a virtuoso. And," he tucked Lan's arm into his and led her down the steps, followed by her aunt and uncle. "I am the most fortunate of men, because, not only am I in command in a town with such a wonderful opera, I happen to work right next to it." He gestured to the walls of the garrison with a flourish.

It was true. The garrison walls bordered one side of the opera house property, the tall trees of the opera courtyards almost reaching out into the garrison itself.

"I have always wondered about this garrison, Chang-Su. Isn't it difficult to defend, surrounded, as it is, by the city?"

The general shrugged. "Perhaps. We have never had to, of course. When we took it, oh, I suppose about fifty years ago, the Earth Kingdom gave up without a fight inside the city at all. So, when we won, we decided that it might be appropriate, and wise, to utilize their structure. With additional Fire Nation precautions, of course. But I think that you will find that we are a peace-loving people here. Never had any problems with the natives. Of course, we get some rebels on the outskirts, but we take care of them rather easily." He bent his head close to Lan's. "I think that the Earth Kingdom loves their opera house more than they love their government." He chuckled. "Tonight was a Fire Nation opera, but most nights they host Earth Kingdom productions, and the place really hops then! Like a bunch of rabbiroos!" He turned to Fai and Ming. "Opera has even deeper roots in the Earth Kingdom than the Fire Nation." He shrugged. "It keeps the populace happy to attend operas, so we let them. It would be a shame to let that beautiful old building fall mainly into disuse, anyway."

They came to the garrison gates, and the portcullis was wound open with slavish promptness. All the soldiers bowed and then stood at attention as their small group passed.

"This is our entrance courtyard, as you can see. It abuts the opera house on that side," he waved a hand, "where those trees are. We drill here and muster in, etc. Get the men up in the morning for some good, old-fashioned calisthenics." He walked them towards a large building directly before them. The door was opened for them, and they walked past a bowed soldier. The general acknowledged the man's presence and continued through.

"My office is up ahead. There is a wonderful fresco in it that I would love for you to see. It was part of the Earth Kingdom commander's living quarters. I don't live here, though. I have a nice little cottage out by the sea. Ae-Cha doesn't like to be hemmed in by the garrison walls."

Ming nodded. "I don't blame her."

He opened a door before him and ushered them within. "This is my secretary's office. Good man. Comes from a good family. No bending, though."

"Chang-Su, why aren't there guards at your office door?"

The general laughed. "No need. We have all the entrances covered. No need for redundancy. Waste of manpower."

He opened the door to his private office and threw some fire at torches on the wall. The light flickered, sputtered, and took hold, illuminating the room.

The light illuminated a wall covered by metal doors, to which the general walked over. "The fresco is behind this panel."

"You keep the fresco behind metal doors?" Lan asked.

"Yes. To protect it from soot and sunlight." He walked behind his desk, to a portrait of Ozai. He took the painting off the wall to reveal a small safe. Using a key that hung on a chain around his wrist, he unlocked the safe, opened it, and brought out a large key ring. "I know what you're thinking – I need a key to unlock keys. But there are too many keys to carry."

Ming laughed. "You have a safe simply to keep keys?"

General Jeung smiled. "I keep considerably more than that. Orders from the capital, troop numbers and movements. Everything an informed general needs to run a war."

While the man fumbled with the keys, Lan walked over to the only window and looked out. She could see the lights of the opera house beyond the wall.

"Isn't it magnificent?"

She turned back to see a beautiful mural of Avatar Kyoshi painted on the wall, showing the earthbending avatar bringing forth a mountain from a plain.

"It is estimated at more than two hundred years old. Perhaps two hundred and fifty."

Ming and Fai exclaimed over it appropriately, and Lan stepped close to examine it. She could see light brush strokes into the wet plaster. Even by torchlight, it was splendid. "It's exquisite."

"Yes, it is. I open this panel every afternoon. That is when the light is best in the room. Otherwise, however, I keep it covered." He smiled. "But come, enough of this. Let's see the rest of the fort."

The tour concluded as the guard was changing, and Lan noticed that only a few men walked the inside perimeter of the garrison. She wondered at the wisdom of such a light guard, but kept her opinions to herself.

General Jeung bowed before the three of them as they prepared to take their leave, promising to give their best wishes to his wife, and vowing to keep in touch.

As they climbed into the carriage, Ming clapped her hands. "What a wonderful night! First an opera, and then a tour of the garrison and a private showing of a rare Earth Kingdom work of art. What more could we ask for from an evening's entertainment?"

Fai smiled. "What indeed?"

* * *

**Author's Note**: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I have been trying to condense multiple events into fewer chapters to make things go more quickly.

Also, if you are into "Young Justice" or Batman comics at all, check out my Nightwing fanfic, "Shatter Me," which can be found via my profile page.


	15. Chapter 15

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN _NICKELODEON'S AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER_ OR ITS CHARACTERS. I just happen to like komodo chicken, even though Iroh doesn't care for it!**

* * *

**Author's Pre-Chapter Notes: **I am posting early this week - I know! I had a request for an early posting from _someone_ who is going to be stuck at a band competition on Saturday, and so here it is! Luckily, this chapter is actually TWICE as long as my usual chapters (I really don't know why), so I have decided to split it into two so that I can post on Sunday, as well.

So, enjoy! And if you are at a band competition, then have fun and good luck! : )

**ADDITIONAL NOTE:** In order to not mess up my own chapter numbering, I have joined chapter 15b to 15a in order to make it complete. I don't know how this will mess with the alerts, though. Poop!

* * *

Zuko did not notice the beauty of Lao Hai as the ship pulled into the harbor. He could only see one thing in his mind – Lan Chi's face. Her face as he last saw her, twisted in grief. But now he saw her face twisted in disgust and repugnance – as he thought it would be once she saw him, as he was now. Not just scarred, but in disgrace as well. He could not bear it, and better that he should not see her at all than see her and be rejected – see the look of revulsion that he was certain would be on her face.

He wanted to return to his cabin and wait there until they were docked and Xuan saddled for the journey into the mountains. First, however, he had to see his uncle. He took the stairs to the bridge two at a time, and found Iroh, too, staring out at the city.

"Uncle."

"It's a beautiful city, isn't it?" He did not turn to his nephew.

"I suppose. Look, Uncle, I am going to be gone at least five days."

"Fine. That is fine, Prince Zuko." His eyes were unwaveringly on the approaching shore.

"Will that be – enough time with – Lan?" He could barely say her name, knowing that she was potentially near – as if she would hear him.

"Yes. I'm certain. It will be wonderful to spend that much time with her." He continued to give Zuko the back of his head.

Zuko nodded, and turned to leave.

"Shall I give her a message from you, Prince Zuko?"

Zuko stopped. He closed his eyes, as if in pain. _Tell her I love her. Tell her I miss her_. "Don't tell her anything."

Iroh frowned. "Prince Zuko, are you certain that is what you want?"

He was silent for a long moment, looking down at the deck. "Tell her – I say _hello_."

"Of course."

Zuko turned to leave the bridge.

"Be careful, Prince Zuko."

Zuko gave a curt nod and left, leaving his uncle behind, still looking out at Lao Hai. Iroh sighed. He did not know what to say to Zuko. He could not convince him to see Lan Chi, and to be honest, he was not certain that he disagreed with his nephew's decision. He was also not certain what he would say to Lan Chi when he saw her. When he left Royal Caldera City with Zuko those long months ago, he had gone without seeing his niece, like a coward running from a fight. He should have told her, in person, that he was leaving. But he had been frightened of seeing her, in the fear that she would convince him to allow her to come with them, which had been forbidden by Ozai.

But, now, he was ready to face her – ready to apologize, ready to explain.

* * *

Zuko sat before his altar, concentrating on breathing, trying hard to find stillness in his soul. But he could not. He had no tranquility inside. All he could think of was how much he wanted to see her – how close she was. In the same city. Perhaps less than a mile away. Close enough that he could walk. If he wanted, he could probably be with her in less than an hour.

But he couldn't. He couldn't see her, and it was killing him.

He sighed and stood. It was time for him to get Jee and look for the avatar. The sooner the better.

He found the lieutenant on the bridge giving instructions to the engineer, who was in charge when the higher ranking members of the ship, namely Zuko, Iroh, and Jee, were absent.

"Jee. I want to leave now. Are you ready?"

"Yes, your highness. I was just instructing the engineer on protocol in case of an emergency."

Zuko looked him over. "Has my uncle left yet?"

"Yes, highness. He left right after we docked."

"He may be gone for several days. Do you know how to contact him in case of emergencies?"

"Yes, Sir. He left the directions."

"Good. Contact him in case of emergencies _only_. Do you understand?"

"Yes, your highness." The engineer nodded.

Zuko looked at Jee. "Good. I want to leave within the next half hour. I need to get out of this city."

* * *

Iroh sat in a hired carriage as it wound through the hills of Lao Hai. Next to him, on the seat, lay the present that he had gotten Lan Chi for her birthday, a pai sho set. He hoped that she liked it – he hoped that it would evoke good memories. He also hoped that it would be a peace offering. A peace offering for abandoning her. For exiling her. For ignoring her for the past year. For choosing Zuko over her. For allowing Ozai to separate them. For everything.

He had made so many mistakes in his life. So many. He had allowed too many things that he should have prevented: Lu Ten accompanying him to Ba Sing Se; Zuko's agni kai; Lan being banished first to Royal Fire Academy for Girls and then to Lao Hai. How he wished that he had been stronger – how much he wished that he had made the right choices.

He sighed. She had every right to resent him – every right to hate him. And he had every right to hope that she would forgive him.

* * *

He alighted from the carriage and looked up at the large house. Lan Chi waited within. He drew a deep breath and knocked on the door. A few moments passed before the door was answered, and, during that time, Iroh was surprised to realize that his pulse was racing and that his palms were sweaty. He was apparently much more nervous than he had first believed.

A dignified butler opened the door, and Iroh bowed to him. "I am Iroh of the Fire Nation, brother-in-law to Lady Ming Yi and uncle to Lady Lan Chi, come to visit them."

The man bowed in return. "Very good, Sir. Please come within."

"Thank you."

He showed Iroh to a lovely, formal sitting room decorated in sumptuous gold with red details, and sat. He put Lan Chi's gift next to him, and waited anxiously. After a few minutes, he stood and perused the room. He saw the altar on one wall, and approached it.

Pictures of so many loved ones stood on the shelves, including his own dear Su Hsing, and his beloved Lu Ten. He reached a reverent finger out to touch their frames, his throat suddenly blocked with tears. He shook his head to clear it, and looked at the rest of the portraits. Yan, Lan Chi's father, and the other siblings who had preceded Ming Yi in death all looked back at him, as did Iroh's mother in law. Iroh smiled at her portrait. He had forgotten how fair she had been, and how much Lan Chi resembled her.

"General Iroh," came a voice from behind him. He turned to see the butler setting a tea service down on the small table before the sofa. "I am afraid that Lady Ming Yi and Lady Lan Chi are not in residence at the moment."

Iroh returned to the sofa. "When are you expecting them?" He poured himself a cup.

"Not for several weeks, I am afraid."

Iroh nearly spit his tea out. "Several weeks? Where on earth have they gone?"

"They have gone with Judge Liang on his circuit of the courts. They are expected to be gone three weeks, and I am afraid they left only yesterday."

_On her birthday_. Iroh sighed. He had missed her. There was no chance that Zuko would stay in Lao Hai for three weeks. Nor wold Iroh expect him to.

"I would like to leave a note for them each, if I may."

"Certainly, general." The man inclined his head. "I will have all the necessary supplies brought to you."

"Thank you." Iroh took another sip of tea. What abysmal timing he had. He had so hoped to see Lan Chi – to reconcile with her, to find out how her life had been, to find out if she was...happy. And, now, he could do none of that. He could leave her gift, and write her a note, and leave. Leave without ever seeing her face. Well, at least he did not have to make an excuse as to why Zuko had not accompanied him. He was spared that.

* * *

Zuko did not want to return to the ship. If he was honest, he did not want to return to Lao Hai. He was afraid – afraid that he would break down and go see her. And he could not do that. He just could not.

However, despite this fear – despite the avowal that he would not see her, he hoped, in a tiny sliver of his soul, that he would return to his ship to find her there. To find her there, arms open. Open to him. He could imagine himself gathering her in his arms, kissing her, her body pressed against his. He could imagine the love – the desire in her eyes. He could imagine so _much_.

But it was only a tiny fraction of his soul that wished that. The rest of his soul knew that such a desire was foolish. It was foolish and reckless. But that did not mean that his pulse was not pounding and that his palms were not sweaty as he led Xuan back to the ship.

That did not mean that he wasn't walking a little straighter, that he wasn't conscious that someone other than Iroh might be watching him, might be waiting for him on board.

He handed Xuan's reins to the stablemaster, who came running down the gangplank.

"Is my uncle aboard?" He asked, his voice unsteady, for which he cursed himself silently.

"Yes, your highness."

He nodded. "And – are there any _visitors_?"

"V-visitors?"

"Did my – uncle bring anyone to the ship?"

"No, highness. Not to my knowledge."

The last of Zuko's hope died. He gave a brief nod and boarded the ship. As he walked across the deck, he untied the strings that held his armor on, and lifted it over his head. He was going to have a hot shower and go to bed. He was going to go to bed and wallow in self-pity for hours.

Lan Chi was not on board – she didn't care. She didn't care to see him. Despite his profession that he did not want to see her, he did. Terribly.

He passed Jee coming down the ladder from the bridge deck. "Get us out of here, Jee. The sooner the better."

"Yes, your highness." He watched as Zuko walked away. "Sir, General Iroh requested that you attend him when you arrive."

He sighed and let his head roll back on his neck. "Where is he?"

"I believe he is in his cabin."

"Great."

* * *

He knocked on his uncle's door.

"Come in," came a voice from within.

Uncle opened the door and entered, dropping his armor on the floor. His uncle was sitting on a cushion at a small table, a book before him.

"Ah, Prince Zuko! You're back." An overly bright smile was on his uncle's face.

"We're leaving Lao Hai immediately. I hope you said your good-byes to – your niece." He could not bear to say her name.

Iroh's face fell, and Zuko's pulse leapt in sudden panic. "What – what is it? Is something wrong? Is she all right?"

Iroh nodded. "Yes. Or I suppose that she is."

A sense of relief surged through Zuko, and he sank down opposite his uncle on a cushion. "What do you mean?"

Iroh shook his head. "I did not see her."

"Wh – why not?"

"She was not there. She and her aunt Ming Yi and Uncle Fai are away."

"Oh." He looked away. "So she did not know that I – I mean, _we_ are here."

He shook his head. "No."

Zuko took a deep breath and stood. "Well, good. She is a distraction. A distraction that we can ill afford." He grabbed up his armor and left the room stiffly.

As he walked back to his cabin, Zuko reflected on her absence. It was nothing that he expected, but, somehow, he knew that something like that would happen. It was as if destiny was keeping them apart.

Perhaps it was something that he should take as a sign.

* * *

After Fai's court business was completed in Daejeon Ju, he and his party journeyed to Xin Xian De, the next city on progress. They arrived a day later than they had hoped, however, owing to one of the ostrich horses becoming lame on the way. Once the animal was replaced, though, the remainder of the carriage trip was smooth, and, although it was night when they finally pulled up to the inn in Xin Xian De.

The next morning Lan Chi ignored Changda's attempt to wake her, and, so, when Changda returned to her mistress's room with breakfast, the maid was forced to pull the covers off Lan Chi's bed and open the curtains.

"Arrrrgh! Changda! You're as bad as Aunt Ming!" She put the pillow over her head, but Changda removed that, as well.

"My lady, were it up to me, I would let you sleep until afternoon, but your Uncle Fai is already belowstairs, eating his breakfast. He wants to leave in a half hour, so you must get up _now_!"

Lan groaned and dragged herself into a sitting position. She yawned and stretched her arms above her head. "I am not a morning person."

"I know that, my lady. Believe me, I know that. Here." She held out a dressing robe for Lan Chi to put on, and Lan slipped her arms into it and shuffled over to the basin. She splashed cold water on her face and cleaned her teeth, and sat down to a breakfast of rice porridge and zongzi, a breakfast dumpling made of rice. It was not what she was used to, but it was traditional Earth Kingdom fare, and and it was not – bad, just different.

After finishing, she sat for Changda to arrange her hair, and, then slipped on her formal robe and slippers, and met Fai in front of the inn with a few minutes to spare.

"Ah, good morning, Lan." He smiled at her. "Right on time, as usual. Shall we go?"

The ride to the courthouse was very quick, and, by the time the clock chimed the hour, she was ready and the courtroom was filling up.

She was doing much better with the transcription now that she had some experience with it. She had learned nearly all of the shorthand that she found necessary to take accurate notes, and, each night, instead of sitting with Fai and transcribing her notes with his help, she was able to do it on her own and give them to her uncle only for review.

She was really enjoying her _job_, as she had started to think of it. Although she was not being paid, she felt that she was, by doing this, helping to replay Fai and Ming for all of their kindness towards her, and for her living expenses for the past year. She was also learning a lot about Fire Nation law and colonial law, which were two separate entities, even though many of them overlapped. It was interesting to her how history was woven into the fabric of a lot of the existing laws, and was constantly being cited and referenced as a basis for new laws.

Fai was introduced by the bailiff and she scrambled to her feet as he was followed in by the local judge. He took his place on the dais at the front of the courtroom, and everyone resumed their seats. The bailiff announced the court opening, and the advocates for the first case presented themselves, one, a woman, resplendent in a beautiful green Earth Kingdom robe, and the other, a man in Fire Nation court robes. They talked to one another for a moment, and approached the bench to speak with Fai, who listened to them before shrugging. The advocates seemed to come to a consensus on something, because there was some general nodding, and the man took a seat.

The female advocate smiled at the audience, and then turned to Fai. "Your Honor, Judge Liang, people of the Fire Nation Colony Occupied Territory," she nodded to them. "We are told that Earth Kingdom people are the same as those from the Fire Nation. That _is_ what we are told, everyday. We all put our shoes on one at a time. We all sleep, and eat, laugh, and love. We all have the same rights and equal protection under the law." She stopped and allowed her eyes to sweep the room.

"Except for one thing – we cannot marry whom we choose. We, the people of Xin Xian De, or any other citizen of any Fire Nation Colony Occupied Territory, cannot marry anyone of the Earth Kingdom unless _we _ourselves are Earth Kingdom. We cannot marry anyone of Fire Nation heritage unless we ourselves _are_ Fire Nationals."

Lan looked up sharply.

"Is it fair?" The advocate continued. "Is it just? I say it is _not_, and today, in this courtroom, I will tell you why."

With a firm nod, she sat, and the other advocate stood. With a small, superior smile, he nodded to the opposing advocate, and turned to Fai.

"Your honor, my esteemed colleague will lay out her reasons why those of Earth Kingdom lineage should be allowed to marry those with Fire Nation blood. She will make arguments that we are all the same, no matter our origins. But I will lay out evidence that will show you, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it is foolhardy and unwise to allow the blood of different races to mix."

Lan Chi's ears started to ring. She could not believe this – there was actually someone promoting a law that would prohibit Fire Nation citizens from marrying members of other nations? She knew that such unions were very, very _rare_, and that her parents' marriage had been frowned upon by her father's countrymen, but she had no idea that, in the opinions of some, it should be outlawed.

The male advocate nodded, and cleared his throat. "Honored judges, colleagues, people of Xin Xian De, I thank you for allowing me to speak to you today. I thank you, and I beseech that you listen with a clear mind, and a clear heart." He walked around the table at which he stood, and he faced the gallery. "In this courtroom, you see Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom. You may turn and look at each other, and you may say that we are all the same. Humans. It's true. We are all humans. But we are _not_ the same. That is what the opposition will surely say – that we are all the same. Despite the fact that we bend different elements, that our skin tones are different, that our eyes are different colors, we are all the same. That is what she will say." He pointed at his opposition. "But we are not. There is Fire Nation. There is Earth Kingdom." He ticked them off on two fingers. "There is even Water Tribe." He held up a third finger.

At this, Lan Chi colored.

"Now, in this enlightened age, Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom live together. Does that mean that we should freely marry outside of our race? I say _no_. We were born _different_ for a reason, and that should be honored. We were _born_ to marry of the same nation. To marry outside of the race into which we were born is to court disaster. It would be a slippery slope were we to allow that. The mixture of the races would result in _birth defects_ in the children. Pollution of the races. Mix earth with water, and what do you get? Mud. _Dirty_ mud. Do we want that for future generations? Do we want to pass onto the children the contamination that comes from the miscegenation of their parents?"

Lan Chi blanched. _Miscegenation_ – the words she had heard throughout her childhood. A horrible word. A hateful word.

"Or families with _warring_ bending abilities within? One brother a firebender and another an earthbender? Chaos would ensue! And what of the ultimate, tragic consequence of marriages between two disparate races? Would bending disappear completely because we allowed, at this time, the blurring of racial lines?"

Lan put down her brush as the man continued.

"However," he said, smiling condescendingly to those in the room, "please do not believe that I think a person's origin makes them fundamentally better or worse than someone from another race. Just different – separate. And separate we should remain. As it _should_ be. As we were _meant_ to be."

Lan stood up suddenly. Every head in the room swiveled to her. She turned to Fai. "I – I require a recess. Your Honor. Please."

Fai looked at her with concern. "A half hour's recess. We will re-convene at that time."

She fled the room and the building, and came to a stop outside in a small courtyard. She sank onto a bench and stared sightlessly down at her hands. She was polluted. She was impure. Tears came to her eyes – unbidden, unwelcome. She blinked them away. She had refused to cry over Zuko. She had refused to cry over Iroh. She would not cry over the words of a bigoted country bumpkin.

But his words cut her deeply. She was cut also by the knowledge that the opinions that the advocate had described in the courtroom were the ones she had heard all her life. She had always subdued her pain, had pushed it down. _Half-breed_, _mongrel_. They all hurt – so much. And now, there was _dirty mud_. She was _dirty mud_. Like something to be wiped off the bottom of a shoe.

She had been so foolish – so _foolish _to think that things would ever change. So foolish to think that she would be accepted. So foolish to think that anyone would ever accept her as Zuko's wife. As the queen of the Fire Nation. How she hated that he was a prince! How she hated that, because of an accident of birth, they would never be together.

_They would never be together_. Funny how listening to the vitriol that the advocate had been spouting had brought her to that conclusion.

"Lan?" Fai's voice was tentative.

She wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand as he sat down next to her. "Are you sure you want to sit here with me – _polluted_ as I am?"

"Lan Chi..." He began.

She interrupted. "He said that I'm _defective_."

"He didn't mean you."

She turned to him. "Yes. Yes, he did. It's no different – _I'm_ no different. I'm the product of _miscegenation_, remember?"

"Don't say that."

"It's true."

"It is not true."

"Uncle Fai, he was talking about _me_. If – if that law had been passed fifteen years ago, I wouldn't be here."

"But it wasn't. And you are."

She gave a rueful smile. "Yes. Here I am. Banished from the Fire Nation."

"You weren't banished."

"Yes, I was. No different from Zuko. I just – don't have the scar. Actually," she gave a bitter laugh, "I guess I do. But they're not – _visible_."

"Lan..."

"Uncle Fai, do you know why I came to live with you? I mean why I _really_ came to live with you?"

"Because Iroh left with Zuko."

"Because he left me _behind_."

"He had to."

"I guess. Ozai – I'm sorry – I mean, the _Fire Lord, _said that I couldn't go with them. For the same reason that the advocate said. Because I'm _impure_, _inferior_. Because I am not _worthy_ of marrying into the royal family. Because any child born to me and Zuko would be _contaminated_ by my mother's blood. Because I'm sub-human."

"Stop that."

"Why should I? It's true. Ozai thinks it. A lot of people think it. Who am I kidding to think that I could ever be allowed to marry Zuko?"

"So you're going to let them ruin your life? You're going to give these _ignorant _people the power to choose your destiny for you?"

"How can I fight them?"

"You don't need to. If you love Zuko, and he loves you, then you _should_ be married. That is the only concern. What other people think – who cares?"

She gave him a watery smile. "You've been talking to Aunt Ming."

"Perhaps."

"Did she tell you that she would support me if I wanted to wait for Zuko?"

"Yes. She also told me that she would support you if you didn't wait for him."

She sighed and looked into the distance. "He seems so far away."

There was nothing that he could say about that. He put a hand over hers. "Come back in, Lan Chi. We need to finish this."

She sighed and shook her head. "I can't. I just – can't."

He smiled. "Yes. You can. You're strong." He stood up and extended his hand.

She looked at it. "_I_ don't think that I am."

"You are." He smiled again, and extended his hand farther. She reluctantly took it, and stood.

He tucked her hand through his arm and they walked back to the courtroom.

The advocates were in their places, and the courtroom was filled, as it had been earlier.

Lan resumed her seat, as did Fai. He folded his hands before him, and looked around the faces in the room – some obviously of Fire Nation heritage, some obviously of Earth Kingdom origins, and others harder to tell.

He addressed the Earth Kingdom advocate. "Madame Advocate, I thank you for your efforts here today. However, I regret to inform you that, although I am certain you prepared a very compelling argument to counter that of your colleague, you will, unfortunately, not have an opportunity to present it."

The female advocate looked at him in disbelief, and Lan, who had begun taking notes again, lifted her face to her uncle, stunned.

"I have decided that the case before me – _this_ case before me, brought by the local Fire Nation Colonial government, has no merit, and I am dismissing it."

Whispering began in the courtroom, and the other advocate stood. "What?! You cannot do that!"

Fai gave him a condescending smile, much like the one the man himself had given earlier. "Yes, indeed, I can. I am the supreme judge in this matter. I am the supreme judge in this region. And I will make no law for this land either promoting or prohibiting _any_ marriage. A marriage is between two people – regardless of race or nationality. As long as those involved are of the age of consent, and there exists no mental incapacity to prevent the marriage, I see no impediment. Love cannot be legislated or adjudicated, and I refuse to do so. So, again, I say, _case dismissed_." He turned to Lan Chi. "My lady scribe, did you get all of that?"

Lan grinned at him amid the chaos that erupted. "Yes, your honor. I most certainly did."

* * *

"Oh, Uncle Fai. Do we _really_ need to go?"

They were on their way back to the inn at the conclusion of the day's business, and Lan Chi was tired after the tension that had remained in the courtroom after Fai's decision about inter-national marriage. Fai himself had seemed unaffected by it, but Lan Chi had sensed the change in the demeanor of many of those in the courtroom – their words were just on the edge of contempt, so that they could be guilty of nothing as serious as that, but the sly complaints and insults were obvious to Lan Chi.

Fai smiled indulgently and laid a hand on her knee. "Why don't you want to go? You have always seemed to enjoy yourself at these get-togethers." They had been invited to another party, this one also at the local garrison, and Lan Chi was hesitant about going, fearing setdowns and snubs towards them for her uncle's ruling.

"_Enjoy_ might be a bit of an overstatement."

"Oh, ho. You were chatting away with Ming and the other wives at the last one."

"Well, that's because we were talking about the R.C."

"The _R.C._?" He laughed. "Is that what you kids call the capital city nowadays?"

Lan smiled. "Uncle Fai, when you say _you kids nowadays_, you sound like an old man!"

He laughed. "I _am_ an old man, my dear."

"No, you're not."

"Ah, well, if I seem young, it is because you and Ming Yi keep me that way."

"Why, thank you." She gave a mock bow.

"The invitation says two hours after sunset – can you be ready by that time?"

"_Must_ we go, Uncle?"

"I ask you again: why don't you want to go?"

She sighed, and looked down at her ink-stained hands. "It's just that – well," she was silent for a moment, "didn't you notice how _a lot_ of the people in the courtroom were _disrespectful_ after you dismissed that case?"

"You mean the case about marriage?"

"Yes."

"If I could not manage disapproval from people, Lan Chi, I would be a rather poor judge. I cannot allow personal prejudice – either my own or the prejudice of others, to affect my decisions. I have made _many_ unpopular rulings in my career, and I am certain that I will make more. But I will not let the opinions of others affect me. I am concerned only with the legality of my decisions – and that is what the Fire Nation has tasked me to do. Besides," he smiled again, "I have developed a rather thick skin. Little can affect me. Certainly not whether I am liked. It's not a popularity contest, after all."

"I think that you are the strong one in this carriage, Uncle Fai."

"I think that we both are - and we are going to go to that party tonight with our heads high, knowing that I made the right decision today. And, if any dares to tax you with it, you may tell them politely that you do not discuss cases. Or, you can tell them to take a very long walk on a very short pier. I give you my permission." He patted her arm. "Or you may sic Ming Yi on them."

"Woe to anyone on the wrong side of that woman!" Lan Chi smiled.

He winked at her. "Yes, indeed. And that, my dear Lan Chi, is the reason why she and I never argue. I could never win!"

* * *

They arrived at the party only a little late, due to the amount of scrubbing that Changda and Lan Chi had to do to remove the ink from Lan's fingers. She had dressed in what she considered to be a very conservative red robe, one of the only red ones that she owned, with her hair in an elaborate bian fang, a traditional headdress that Changda had purchased earlier that day in the open market. The front of her hair was braided along her face, with the rest wound around the frame of the bian fang, allowing only the elaborately decorated ends to show on either side of her head.

Fai nodded in approval at her hair and dress. "You look quite striking, my dear. Oddly, the color red complements your hair greatly. I would not have thought that."

She touched her hair self-consciously. "Really?"

Ming slid her hand through her husband's arm. "You're stunning, my dear. You must know that."

Fai nodded. "Yes, indeed. Should there be any young officers there, I fear we shall have to guard you."

"Oh, Uncle Fai." She blushed. "I doubt that."

"Do not doubt your beauty, Lan Chi. You are as beautiful as the rest of the women in your family, which is beautiful, indeed." He smiled at Ming.

Lan grew even redder. "Thank you."

They climbed into the carriage for the short trip to the garrison. Once inside, Ming squeezed Lan's hand. "Fai told me what happened today."

Lan did not pretend to misunderstand her. "The court case about marriage. It was horrible. Oh, not what Uncle Fai did!" She hastened to add. "He was wonderful. It was the Fire Nation advocate."

"I know. Bigoted, narrow-minded ass. But Fai put him in his place, didn't he?"

Lan smiled. "He certainly did."

"Don't let it concern you, my dear. Anyone who holds those views is no one that we need concern ourselves with. So, behave as if they do not even exist."

Lan smiled wanly. "Yes, Aunt Ming."

The journey to the garrison took only a few minutes, and they alighted to find a line of part-goers waiting to enter.

Lan's face registered dismay. "I thought this was to be a small get-together."

Ming waved a hand airily. "Oh, no. In Xin Xian De, _everything _is done – _big_."

"Lovely."

They finally reached the main room, which was apparently the mess hall, although it was now decorated with paper lanterns and various tables and chairs.

"His Honor Judge Fai Liang and the Ladies Ming Yi Liang and Lan Chi Sun," one of the servants announced them, and they entered the room to hundreds of eyes.

"Fai! Over here!"

Fai nodded in the direction of the man who hailed him. "Ah. It's Major Gao. He is second in command here. He was posted in Lao Hai before coming here."

"Have I met him, Fai?" Ming frowned.

"I believe so. He used to have considerably more hair than he has now."

"Oh, yes!" She snapped her fingers. "I remember him now."

Fai guided his party over to the group surrounding Major Gao. He greeted his old acquaintance and introduced Ming Yi and Lan Chi. Many in the group smiled or greeted them politely, whereas other simply gave a terse nod.

"Well, Fai, I heard you had quite an interesting day in court." Gao smiled at Fai.

He shrugged. "Better than a boring day."

Gao laughed. "Ha! I suppose so." He turned to Ming Yi. "And Lady Ming Yi! How are you? You are as radiant as I remember."

She blushed. "Oh, don't go on, Gao! I remember what a shameless flirt you were in Lao Hai."

The major laughed. "I am completely reformed, I swear to you. In fact, my wife is here tonight. She just went back to the living quarters to check on our son."

"Oh, you have a wife – and a child! How wonderful."

"Indeed, thank you. Would you like to meet them? I know that she would love to meet you! The boy is probably asleep by now, of course."

"I would be honored."

The man turned to Fai. "How about a drink? I just got a new shipment of baijiu. Would you like to sample it?"

"Don't mind if I do."

Ming turned to Lan Chi. "Would you like to accompany us, Lan?"

Lan shook her head. "I'll be fine, Aunt Ming. You go."

Ming frowned. "I'll stay with you, Lan. I don't want to leave you alone."

"I'll be fine. Go."

Her aunt and uncle left with Major Gao, and Lan wandered over to a table with food. She had not realized how hungry she was, so she took a small plate and loaded it with dumplings and other finger foods.

A number of women looked her over with critical eyes, and approached. A waiter came by with rice wine, and they each took a glass.

"So, _Lady _Lan Chi, is it?" One of the women gave her an insincere smile.

Lan looked at her with suspicion. "Yes, it is."

"How long have you been with Judge Liang?" One of the other women asked, lifting her wine glass to her lips.

"Well, this is the second time that I've traveled with him, but I've lived with him for about a year."

The first woman lifted her brows. "Really? You live with him? How – forward thinking of his wife."

Lan was confused. "It was her idea."

"Indeed? Well! I would _never_ allow _my _husband's _concubine _to live with us!"

Lan Chi thought that she had misheard. "I – I beg your pardon?"

"My husband's concubine _often _traveled with him on business," said the second woman, "but, mercy! Living with us! I could not."

"And, to be frank," another woman chimed in, "I never thought it of Judge Liang! My goodness!"

"C – concubine?" Lan was aware that she sounded like a simpleton, but her brain and tongue did not seem to be functioning in tandem. "He's my _uncle_!"

"Oh, yes, _of course_! Aren't they _always_?" The first woman smiled smugly.

Lan was aghast. How could they think that of her? Of Uncle Fai? "But he _really_ is."

A look of horror passed over the women. "Surely you are not related to him by _blood_."

"N – no. He is married to my father's sister. She's here with us. She's _traveling_ with us."

"How – _odd_."

"It's a bit salacious, but, well, there's no accounting for _peculiar_ tastes."

The third woman piped up. "But, my goodness! You are so _young_! You can't be more than seventeen!"

"I'm fifteen." Lan's voice was small.

The women turned to one another. "Oh, my. I would not have credited Judge Liang with such lasciviousness. A fifteen year-old girl – and his niece, at that!"

"Well, it _does_ explain his ruling today, though. I mean, it is _obvious _that she is not _pure_ Fire Nation, if she is Fire Nation _at all_."

"I'm standing right here!" Lan's hands curled into fists. "Don't speak of me as if I am not in front of you! Actually," she put her hands on her hips, and her eyes narrowed. "Don't speak of me _at all_. Or my aunt and uncle." The wine in their glasses began bubbling gently. "And, for the record, I am _not_ his concubine. I am _no one_'s concubine. Fai Liang is a decent and _honorable _man, but you wouldn't recognize that because your thoughts are _much_ too base and your characters _much_ too low!" A few of the glasses bubbled over, and several others shot wine out at the women, causing the women to shriek and drop their glasses. "And I would thank _you_ to keep your _lewd_ and _ludicrous _theories to yourself!" She turned on her heel and marched from the room, head held high, leaving the women to wonder which of them had actually spilled wine on the others.

Lan walked from the room, shaking with fury. How dare they? How dare those _malicious_ and _hateful_ women suggest something so _disgusting_? She knew that their words were just vengeful vitriol – they were trying to insinuate that Fai's judgment was flawed, and they thought that they could, by trying to bully Lan Chi, score a victory over her uncle.

But they had not succeeded. She was not a willing victim – she would never give up; she would never allow someone to hurt her, or her family, ever again. She had been pushed too much, too hard, too often – and she would never let anyone get the best of her again. Never again.

Still, that did not mean that she was _not _upset. She was, terribly. In fact, she felt shaky from the thought that someone had even _considered _such an evil thing, for even a moment.

She looked around. She had left the dining hall and kept walking, aimlessly, and now she was in a long hallway, lined with unmarked doors. She had no idea where she was, and no guards appeared to tell her to leave, or how to return to the dining hall.

"Hello?" She called out, but her voice echoed eerily down the empty hallway. "I'm lost. Can someone help me?"

She turned to retrace her steps, but, when two halls met perpendicularly, she did not know which way to go. "Great." She said to no one. "I'm lost." The sound of her speech was somehow comforting, and, once she had voiced her problem, she felt slightly better. "Where do I go now?"

She tentatively walked down one of the junctures in the hallway, and decided that her best bet might be to try all the doors until she found someone who could help her. She tried door after door, but they were all locked – until she came to a set of double doors, which opened easily. She slipped inside.

"Hello?" There was no answer.

She seemed to be in an office of some sort. She looked back at the door, and wondered if she should just leave, but an imp within her prompted her to stay. She looked around at her surroundings. There was a desk and several chairs, as well as a few bookcases and a door. She walked to the desk and pushed a pile of parchment over until the papers were spread across the surface. She idly picked one up. It was an order to send a platoon of Fire Nation soldiers out after a rebel group. She laid the paper down, and looked around her again. This must be the administrative office of the garrison.

She tried the other door in the room and found it unlocked, as well. It was another office, and she let herself in. There were maps on the walls, and another desk, larger than the one in the outer office. There was a picture of the Fire Lord on the wall. It was askew; she reached out to straighten it, but it slid even farther off its nail, and clattered to the floor.

There was a wall safe behind the painting, and Lan Chi reached out to touch the lock.

"You know you shouldn't be in here."

Lan gave a little scream, and whirled. There was a young man in a Fire Nation uniform standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame and smiling. He seemed young, perhaps nineteen or twenty. He also seemed very handsome.

He pushed off the jamb and walked towards her. "This is the colonel's office. What are you doing here?"

"I – I got lost." She looked down at her feet – anywhere but at his straight nose, or chiseled cheekbones, or piercing brown eyes.

He stopped about a foot away from her. "Are you sure that you're not a spy – or something?"

Lan smiled in spite of herself, and looked up at him. "No. Not likely."

"So you say. Are you here for the judge's party?"

"Yes."

"But you somehow ended up in the commander's _private_ office?"

"My sense of direction failed me."

His lips quirked. "Apparently." He touched the edge of her headdress. "Nice touch – this."

She blushed. "Thank you."

"Your hair –" he pointed at it.

"I know. Odd."

He dropped his hand. "No. Beautiful."

Her color increased. "Th – thanks."

He looked closely at her, and frowned. "How old are you?"

She thrust her chin into the air. "Fifteen."

"You're fifteen? Oh, I am _definitely_ taking you back to the party." He grabbed her hand and practically pulled her from the room, careful to shut the door behind them.

"Who are you here with? Your parents?" He asked as they made their way to another door.

"My aunt and uncle. Where are we going?" He had opened a door that led outside.

He grinned at her. "Shortcut."

"Oh." She looked curiously at the door as it shut behind her. They were in a small courtyard, and the outside wall was before them.

"So, who are your aunt and uncle?" He led her from the courtyard.

"Oh. Well, he's the assizes judge. She's – his wife."

"Ah. Were you trying to escape from them?"

"No. From some – other people."

"So the commander's office seemed like a good place?"

"No. Just a lot of right turns," she shrugged. "Led me there. Why were you there?"

"I'm the commanding officer's assistant."

"Aren't _you_ a little young?"

It was his turn to shrug. "He's my father's cousin. He gave me the position." He looked at her beneath a torch that they passed, and she noticed that he had very thick, wavy, black hair. "Better than going to the front, I guess."

"It's infinitely safer." She agreed.

"And more cowardly." His voice was bitter.

"Don't knock cowardice until you've tried it. I lost my father and my cousin to the war, and I wished they'd been a little more cowardly."

He stopped and looked at her more closely. "I'm sorry. I lost an uncle, and a couple of cousins, too."

"I hate this war." She returned his look evenly.

"Yeah. It's pretty lousy." He started walking again, his hand still in hers.

"We'll win it soon." She sounded more confident than she felt.

"You think that? How much have you traveled through the Earth Kingdom?"

"Some."

"Well, what do you think of it?"

It's _big_. It's really big."

"Yeah, it is. And it has a _lot_ of people. A lot of soldiers. And Ba Sing Se? The city doesn't send many soldiers right now, but, soon, they'll have to, and then we'll be in big trouble."

"Why do you say that?"

"That city – it's a sleeping giant. And spirits help us when it wakes up. They have more potential soldiers within their walls than the entire Fire Nation. They could swamp the homeland, should they so desire."

Lan paled. She had never thought of that. She knew that the Earth Kingdom was large, and that Ba Sing Se was their largest city, but she had no idea its vastness. "I – I didn't know."

"It's a secret that we like to keep. The higher ups don't want to alarm people." He gave her a look that was both devilish and somber at the same time. "So don't tell anyone."

She shook her head. "I won't."

"But don't worry. Ba Sing Se is not anxious to get involved deeply in the war. It would hurt their bottom line."

They came to the main garrison door, and he opened it with a flourish. She bowed mischievously, and preceded him into the building. People overflowing from the party were milling about, and her escort greeted a few of them with either smiles or bows.

He took her arm and slid it through his own, and they walked to the dining hall. She spotted Fai and Ming almost immediately, and the young man took her over to them.

"Lan Chi!" Ming's face took on a relieved smile. "We were _so_ worried. Where were you?"

"Oh. Well, I got a bit – lost." She removed her hand from her escort's arm.

"And who is this?" Ming appraised the young man.

"Oh, he's – oh, my!" Lan looked at her escort. "I don't know your name!"

He held up well under Ming's glacial look. "Corporal Sheng, my lady." He turned to Fai. "Your honor." He bowed. "Shwai Sheng."

"Well, Corporal Sheng, although I am pleased to make your acquaintance, I wonder what you are doing with my niece." Fai's eyebrows raised.

"Oh, he helped me when I was lost." She smiled at Shwai. "He helped me get back here."

"Very chivalrous." It was clear that Ming was not impressed.

Although Shwai's cheeks turned pink, he kept a cool demeanor. "It was my pleasure." He turned to Lan. "Lan and I had quite a nice conversation about – directions."

"I think you mean _Lady Lan Chi_, Corporal." Fai smiled tightly.

"Ah, yes, of course." He turned to Lan, and bowed deeply. "My lady, it was indeed an honor to make your acquaintance – and to be of assistance to you."

She smiled and bowed, as well. "Thank you, Corporal Sheng. I enjoyed meeting you, as well."

He smiled broadly. "Should you return to Xin Xian De in the future, I would be very pleased if you visited me."

"I will, Corporal." She blushed nearly as red as her hair, a fact that Ming did not miss.

She slipped her hand through her niece's arm. "We should go, Lady Lan Chi. You and Fai have an early morning."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Shwai bowed to the three of them again, and was gone. Lan watched him leave, a small smile on her face.

"Well, you seemed to have made a good impression in this city."

Lan sighed. "You may not say that when you hear what happened earlier."

"We heard." Ming shook her head.

She was chagrined. "I'm sorry. You don't know what they said –"

"And I don't want to. Nor do I need to." His face was grim, and Lan felt her own drain of color. She had never seen him look so angry.

"I – I'm _really_ sorry, Uncle Fai. I know that I shouldn't have said what I said. I – I hope I didn't cause you any trouble." She hung her head.

He made a hand gesture indicating that they should leave, and they made their way out. "No, Lan, you mistake me. I am not angry at _you_. I am angry that you were so insulted, and that you were made to feel uncomfortable."

She felt a wave of relief wash over her. "Thank goodness. But you don't need to worry. I _was_ uncomfortable, but I'm certain that I made them feel rather uncomfortable, too."

He gave a chuckle. "Yes, I bet that you did. You have the quick-wit of the Sun family. Still, despite your unruly tongue," he smiled at her, "that young man seemed rather interested in you."

"He certainly did." Ming wagged her brows.

"Oh, Aunt Ming, _I'm _not interested in him."

"Hmmm." She did not seem convinced.

"I'm waiting for Zuko."

"Well, no one says that you have to wait alone."

* * *

**Author's Notes**: I couldn't resist calling the capital city "the R.C.," like the O.C.!

Also, I based much of the court case regarding marriage on past cases in the US. In the first half of the twentieth century (or so), there were laws that prevented "mixed" marriages, i.e. between people of different races, and, now, of course, there are laws that prevent gay marriage in many states.

It looks like Lan is learning that winning the war will be no easy task - the Earth Kingdom dwarfs the Fire Nation, in both geographic size and inhabitants, and the cost of fighting the war is already too high for the tiny Fire Nation.


	16. Chapter 16

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN **_**NICKELODEON'S AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER**_** OR ITS CHARACTERS. I just think that the "Loser Lord" is a pretty good nickname for Ozai.**

* * *

**Author's Pre-Chapter Notes**: BIG, BIG thanks go out to my wonderful beta readers, bowow0708 and sunflower13 (who is doing double duty betareading my Young Justice fanfic, as well). They are both BEYOND wonderful! Also, huge thanks to animechick247, who did some more marvelous artwork for this fic! You can check it out on deviantart, under animechick247!

* * *

Zuko, what is wrong with you?"

"There is nothing wrong with me." Zuko sat down across the table from his uncle, and the cook set his breakfast, a bowl of rice and eggs, before him.

"You're limping."

Zuko blushed. "Oh. That. It's nothing."

"Did you hurt yourself?"

He shook his head as he took a bite.

"Then what?"

"Iz nuffin." He said with a mouthful of food.

"If you are injured, Prince Zuko, we can take you to a doctor. We will be in port tomorrow."

He put his bowl and chopsticks down. "_I said it's nothing_! My boots are too small, that's all!"

Iroh looked down into his bowl quickly, trying to suppress his mirth. It was too much for him, however, and a low laugh escaped him until it grew into a full-throated guffaw.

"What's so _funny_?" Zuko demanded, fists on the table.

"Zuko, it means that I get to go shopping!"

His nephew groaned.

"In fact, we should take a look at your entire wardrobe." He gestured to the prince. "I think that those cuffs look a bit worn. And I will bet that your pants are much too short!" He rubbed his hands in glee. "I don't know why I did not consider that you needed new clothes! You have, after all, grown quite a bit in the past year!"

"Uncle, I really do not need – "

"Nonsense! The crown prince of the Fire Nation cannot be seen in shabby clothing!"

That made Zuko inexplicably pleased, and he nodded. "Fine. I'm certain this port has a market, so –"

"Oh, yes, indeed, Zuko! Xin Xian De has a _wonderful _market! I was there several times in my youth. They should have everything you need there!"

* * *

Iroh was right about the market at Xin Xian De. It blossomed around the busy, prosperous port, taking up several acres. Like all of the markets that they had visited – and Zuko was beginning to think that this journey was indeed _Iroh's worldwide shopping expedition_, there were vendors of everything one could want or imagine.

Iroh found several haberdashers, and, after looking over the wares in each of their shops, he settled upon one to patronize. The ancient man who owned the shop looked Zuko over critically.

"I can see that the young master needs some new shirts," his eyes continued to skim Zuko. "And pants. And perhaps some new boots."

Zuko bristled at the title of _young master_. It made him seem like he was twelve years old!

Iroh smiled. "Yes, indeed. All of those."

The man cracked a smile at the thought of a big sale. "Then let's get started. Please, young sir, remove your armor. Or would you require assistance?"

"No!" Zuko slapped his hand away. "I'll do it myself." He untied the armor and lifted it over his head.

The man looked at Zuko expectantly.

"You must remove your clothes, Zuko." Iroh made certain to omit his royal title.

Zuko colored. "Out – out here?"

"Are you embarrassed?" Iroh smiled indulgently.

"No! No! I have nothing to be – embarrassed about." He quickly shed his boots, pants, and shirt, until he stood in front of the man in only his underwear. He tried not to feel exposed, but, standing in the middle of the man's shop nearly naked did not engender comfort.

The man held out a tape measure. "Arms, please."

Zuko obediently held out both arms, and the man measured them and scratched some numbers on a small piece of parchment.

"Inseam, next, if you please."

"In _what_?"

"The area from your genitals to your ankle, Sir."

Zuko blushed all the way down to his chest. "Oh – oh. _That_ inseam."

Iroh chuckled, and Zuko sent him a dark look as the proprietor measured his inseam.

"And since you are obviously Fire Nation nobility, I assume you would like the highest quality regulation uniform pants and shirts?"

Zuko nodded.

"How long do you think it might take?" Iroh, who had been looking at men's robes, turned to look at the other man.

The man frowned. "Well, if you want them made to order, three days at least."

"Uncle, I do not want to stay that long. We have – plans."

"Ah, yes. That _hunting _trip you mentioned. Hmm." He did not mention they were hunting the avatar.

The haberdasher cleared his throat. "Young master is of a common size, of course. I am certain that I have some of his size in stock."

"I thought that you might." Iroh smiled, and the man went off.

Zuko snatched his pants off the floor and started to put them back on.

"What are you doing?"

Zuko looked at his uncle in surprise. "Getting dressed. He's done with measuring, isn't he?"

"You still have to try things on, Prince Zuko."

Zuko gave an aggravated sigh, and dropped his pants on the floor again. "Fine." His voice was tight.

The merchant returned with a pile of clothes. "These should all fit, I think."

Zuko did not relish standing in the middle of the shop trying on the many pieces of clothing the man held. "Have you a dressing room?"

"Yes, of course. In here." He led Zuko through a doorway into a room where two young men sat sewing. They looked at him briefly, apparently unsurprised by a nearly naked man walking in, and went back to their tasks. The clothier indicated a small closet closed off by a curtain, and handed Zuko the clothes. "Shall I fetch your uncle?"

"I think I can dress myself." Zuko slid the curtain closed with more force than necessary.

He tried on the first pair of pants – they were the right length, but a bit baggy in front. Perhaps the man could alter them. He took them off and put them aside.

"So, did your uncle get to present his case at assizes last week?" Zuko could hear the conversation between the two tailors.

"Yes. I went. I had to. I witnessed the whole thing."

"Oh! You saw his neighbor punch him?" Zuko tried on a shirt as the conversation progressed. It fit perfectly. He gave an approving nod.

"Oh, yeah. He was drunk as a Fire Lord, and hauled off and knocked two of my uncle's teeth out!"

"All for what?"

"Tree branches hanging over the property line!"

"Did he win?"

"Who? My uncle? Yeah. Of course he did. The colonial adjudicator said it was no question. He even told the local judge that it was stupid that the case had not already been settled."

"It was cut and dried?"

"As summer hay."

"Ha!"

"Oh! You know what I saw there?"

"No. How could I know? I wasn't there."

"Right. Sorry. I saw a girl with _red _hair – working as a scribe."

"No way. _No one_ has red hair. It must have been a wig."

Zuko froze. Red hair? No. It couldn't be. It just _couldn't_. What would Lan be doing here? Working as a scribe? It couldn't be her. But, it _had_ to be her. Red hair? He had to know.

In his underwear and a shirt, he pulled back the curtain. "A girl with red hair?"

* * *

It _was Lan_. It was. It _had _to be.

Zuko interrogated the two men and found out that the girl in question not only had red hair, brown eyes, and freckles, but also wore bright colors and seemed to be the niece of the colonial judge. Zuko reached back into his memory and recalled that Iroh had mentioned that her uncle Fai was a judge of some sort. And, of course, Lan _loved_ to wear any color other than red,

The moment he realized it was her, he also realized that he _had_ to see her. He had to. Although he had, only weeks before, vowed that he would not see her, and had even gone out of his way to avoid her, he now realized that he wanted to see her more than anything else. More than angering or disappointing his father, more than searching for the avatar. She was _here_, in this town. It was providence. It was the work of the spirits, the gods, that she was here. And he would not spurn such a divinely-given gift.

He threw on a pair of pants and raced back out to the front of the shop, where his uncle was trying on a robe.

"Uncle!" he skidded into the room.

Iroh smiled at him. "Zuko! Those look wonderful on you. They fit perfectly."

"Thanks." He looked around distractedly. "Uh, I have to go. I – have to run an errand." He did not know why, but he did not want to tell Iroh, just yet. He didn't want Iroh to go with him. He wanted to see Lan alone at first. He wanted it to be his secret – right now. After he had some time alone with her, he would bring her to Iroh. But now, she would be his. Just his, and his alone.

"An errand?" Iroh's brows drew down. "I did not know –"

He cut Iroh off. "I've got to go. Um, pay for these clothes, Uncle. Please." Without waiting for his uncle's reaction, he dashed out of the shop.

He had to get to the courthouse. That was the place to start. But how? He had no idea where it was.

A cab! He would get a cab! He raced to the perimeter of the market, where hired carriages waited. He found one sitting idle, and he ran up to the driver. "Do you know where the courthouse is?"

His eyes raked over Zuko. "Yeah."

"Can you take me there?"

"I guess. Do you know you don't have any shoes on?"

Zuko looked down at his naked legs. He had forgotten to pull his boots back on!

He slapped his head. "I'll go get them. Can you wait?"

The man shrugged. "I'll wait until I get a fare, buddy. Then I'm off."

Zuko held his hands up. "Okay. I'll be right back!" He retraced his steps to the tailor's, and burst through the door, startling the proprietor.

"Ah, back so soon, Zuko! Were you able to complete your errand?" Iroh smiled.

He grabbed his boots and shoved his feet into them. "Uh, no. I just forgot my boots. Oh, and money. I need some money." He rifled around in his discarded pants for his money purse, and shoved it into his pocket. "Um, I'll be back soon, Uncle. Will you be here?"

Iroh spread his hands. "This kind gentleman has just offered me tea. I'll be here."

Zuko nodded, and was off again. In boots, it took his less than a minute to get back to the hired carriage, and he gave the order for the courthouse again. As the vehicle lurched forward, he looked out the window nervously.

Old doubts flooded him. It had been over a year since he had seen her. The worst year of his life. What would she say when she saw him? Would she be surprised? Would she even recognize him?

He touched his scar. She had not seen it yet. Would she be repulsed? Would she turn away from him? What if she had found someone else? What if she had a sweetheart back in Lao Hai? What was she even _doing _here in Xin Xian De? It sounded as if she was working. But why? Did she need the money? He could not believe that. Her father had left her well off – that he knew. And, of course, Uncle had plenty of money, so – why was she _working_? He supposed he would ask her that question when he saw her.

If he could find her. At least he had a good place to start – the courthouse. He could ask for her uncle, the judge. What was his name? Fai – something. Ling? Long? Lung? Liang? Wait. That was it. Fai Liang. He could simply ask for Fai Liang.

He could visualize, in his mind, seeing her for the first time. He wondered if she had changed. Of course she had! It had been a year. But he could not imagine any change that would not please him. If anything, she would have grown more beautiful. Perhaps taller. Of course she would be taller! She would probably have filled out – become more – shapely. He felt himself grow excited by the prospect. He wondered, when he found her, if he could take her somewhere _immediately _to be alone. Spirits, how he wanted to kiss her! How he wanted to touch her! How he wanted to slip the robe from her shoulders and kiss her bare skin, and unwind her breast wrappings, and...

_Zuko_! His uncle's voice invaded his head. Right. They were not married. He could not do that.

Why couldn't he? They were to be married. In fact, they could be married by her uncle, at the courthouse.

Wait! Was he _crazy_? They were both still only fifteen. And the legal age was sixteen. Sixteen, not fifteen.

Well, what could they do _before_ they were married? He realized that his thoughts were going much, much further than they ever had before, but he was so damnably tired of being alone. So tired of missing her, of _wanting _her. All they needed was a little time alone. Just a little time. A half hour would be sufficient.

_How would you say goodbye to her, after that_? His voice of reason intruded into his fantasies, but he pushed it away. He would not think of that, right now. First, he had to find her. Besides, he didn't _have_ to leave her behind. She could go with them.

_But what about Dad_? _He warned you not to bring her along._

_He warned **Uncle**, not me_.

_Same thing_.

He shoved those thoughts away again, and looked down at himself. At least his clothes fit, and weren't shabby. But he should make himself more presentable. He tucked his shirt into his waistband and the bottom of the pants into the tops of his boots, and smoothed his queue. How he wished he still had hair!

_Well, if you're going to wish for hair, Zuko, you might as well wish for a face without a scar_!

The voice sounded like Azula's. "Shut up." He murmured.

The carriage rolled to a stop before a tall, official-looking building.

"Courthouse!" The driver called, and Zuko jumped out.

"How much?"

"A copper piece."

Zuko fished two out and gave them to the man. "How about a gold piece if you stay here? I might need to go somewhere else."

The man's eyes shone. "Yeah. I'll wait. But no more than a half hour."

"Deal." Zuko turned to look at the building. It was impressive, designed in the classical Fire Nation style. He took the steps up to the entrance two at a time.

There was a guard at the door stopping people, and he held a hand out when Zuko tried to pass him.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Inside. I have to find someone."

"Sure you do, buddy. What's your business?"

"I just told you. I have to find someone." Zuko was becoming annoyed.

"_Who_ are you looking for, smart guy?"

"A judge."

"We got those. _Which one_?"

Zuko sighed. "Fai Liang."

"Never heard of him." He waved Zuko away. "Step out of line." There was a queue of people forming behind the prince.

"I don't care if _you've_ never heard of him. He's a colonial judge, here for the assizes..."

"Oh, a colonial judge. Well, he ain't here. Assizes are over. Now step out of line."

"What?" Zuko's stomach fell. "When?"

The guard was annoyed now, too. "I don't know. Do I look like the bailiff?"

_The bailiff_! Surely, he would know where Lan Chi's uncle was! "I want to see the bailiff."

"You got an appointment?"

The man was infuriating!

"No, I don't have an appointment! How could I have an appointment? _You_ just told me about him!"

"Well, if you don't have an appointment, you're not going in. Now _step out of line_!" There was now a group of people waiting to get in.

"I am not getting out of line! I have to find Judge Liang, and I am not moving until _you_ let me in to see the bailiff so that I can find _Judge Liang_!"

The guard's face turned red. "I am _not _letting you in to see _anyone _unless you have an appointment!"

Zuko drew himself up. "Yes, you are! Now let me in!"

"Who do you think you are, _brat_, to order me around?"

"_Brat_? How dare you talk to me that way? I am _Crown Prince _Zuko, heir to the throne of the Fire Nation, that's who!"

"Ha! And I'm the avatar! Now, _step out of line_!" He gave Zuko a shove, and the boy staggered back.

Incensed, and his vision turned red, Zuko shoved him back.

The man's face became twisted in rage. "Why, you –"

He launched himself at Zuko, who, although braced himself for the impact, still went reeling back. The prince grabbed the man's collar and they both tumbled down the stairs. They landed in a heap at the bottom in a flurry of punches and kicks.

Zuko, in a blind fury, was vicious, his fist landing surprisingly more often than his opponent's, and, he probably would have won had courthouse security not rushed in to break up the fight. They hauled the combatants up by their collars, and separated them.

"Arrest that man for attacking his prince!" Zuko said imperiously, not realizing the ridiculous picture he presented, his lip bloodied, his queue loose around him, and his new shirt torn.

"Arrest _me_?" The man was incredulous. "This guy is _crazy_! He attacked me because I wouldn't let him into the courthouse to see a judge who _isn't even here_! And he thinks he's Prince of the Fire Nation!"

"_Think_ I'm the prince? I don't _think_, I _know_!"

"I don't think you know either, pal!" The guard, who had been released by his comrades, straightened his uniform. "Take him to the garrison."

Someone clapped manacles around Zuko's wrists, which had been twisted behind the prince's back. "What? Wait! No! You can't arrest me! I'm _royalty_! My fire is the Father Lord! Have you lost your minds? He'll have your head!" He felt himself being dragged backwards, and he tried to drive his heels into the ground, but they bounced impotently against the cobblestones.

He was thrown into the back of a paddy-wagon, and the doors shut behind him.

"Arrrrrgh!" He rolled over, and kicked against the doors with his feet. "Let me out! I'm prince of the Fire Nation! I am! I _am_!" He kicked again, and this time, flames burst out and shot through the bars on the door.

One of the guards hit the door with a fist. "Hey! No firebending!"

"Let me out! I demand that you let me out!"

"We'll let you out when we get to the garrison."

Zuko heard the man's footsteps moving away, and then the wagon lurched forward. "Uggggggggggh!" Zuko yelled again, and kicked out at the door again repeatedly until his legs grew sore.

He lay there in the dimness of the wagon and stared up at the ceiling. It smelled foul with the stench of sweat and urine, and he suddenly realized he was lying in the back of a patrol wagon, and sat up.

He had to find a way out of this. They obviously did not believe he was Prince Zuko, and he did not have any proof of his identity. He actually did not have anything at all, other than a few coins in his pocket and clothing that may or may not have been paid for. And he had foolishly not told Uncle where he was going, so he could expect no help from that quarter. He brought his knees up to bang his forehead against them. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid! He was going to be thrown in jail until he could prove his identity, and, worse, he was losing precious time when he should be searching for Lan Chi. _Damn it_!

He lurched to his feet, which, without his hands, was not easy. He fell over to the window in the door. He wanted to see where they were going, in case...

_In case of what, Zuko_? _In case you're able to escape_? _Fat chance_!

The city rolled by behind him, but, of course, he recognized nothing. He thought it might be wise to note landmarks as they drove by them, and he noticed a temple and a park and an open-air meat market before the wagon slowed and stopped.

The door opened and two of the guardsmen appeared. "Let's go, _your highness_."

Zuko recognized the sarcasm in the man's tone, but he obeyed nonetheless.

He jumped down from the wagon and walked into the station between them, their hands firmly on his arms.

"I _am_ royalty, you know." He insisted.

"Yeah, yeah. I know. Crown prince. Fire Lord's going to have my head, etc. I'm quaking."

Zuko sighed.

They brought him into a large and neat garrison office, where a weary-looking lieutenant sat at a desk.

"What's this, then?"

"Tried to force his way into the courthouse."

The man waved Zuko into a chair.

"I'll stand."

The two guards holding him forced him to sit, and, although he struggled, they were successful.

He considered firebending, but, as if reading his mind, one of the guards squeezed his shoulder painfully. "Don't think about firebending, or it will be worse for you."

Zuko gave a deep sigh.

"Okay. Charge?"

"We just told you." One of the guards said impatiently. "He tried to force his way into the courthouse."

"Hey!" The lieutenant pointed at them. "Are you forgetting who you are talking to?"

Zuko puffed up. This man _obviously_ knew who he was!

"_I'm _ a lieutenant. Show respect!"

Zuko sagged, as did the guards, although for different reasons.

"Yes, Sir." The two guards mumbled in unison.

"I think you need to stand at attention when you say that."

"Yes, Sir!"

The lieutenant nodded. "That's better. Charge?"

"Uh, burglary?"

"No. Try again."

"Breaking and entering?"

"No."

"Disturbing the peace?"

The lieutenant nodded. "Okay. What else?"

"Um. Assault?"

"Oh, yeah. He punched the head guard there." The second guard piped up.

"Did he? Okay." The lieutenant nodded. "Although that guard is a _huge_ jerk."

"It's true."

"Yeah, he is."

"Anything else? Resisting arrest?"

"Well, he did fight a little bit."

Zuko finally spoke. "I did not!"

There was a quick slap across the back of his head. "Quiet."

He lapsed back into a brooding silence.

"Okay. Disturbing the peace, assault, resisting arrest, interfering with the lawful pursuit of justice –"

Zuko was compelled to speak again. "They didn't say that!" He indicated the arresting guards with his head.

"Well, it's obvious you did that. Oh, and shut up."

Zuko hissed between his teeth.

"All right, now that we have that out of the way, let's find out who you are, shall we?"

Zuko nodded sullenly.

"Name?"

"Zuko."

"Zuko." The man repeated slowly, scribbling on a parchment. "First name?"

"That is my first name."

The lieutenant looked at him in exasperation. "Why didn't you tell me that before?" He scratched out what he had written. "What's your last name?"

"I don't have a last name."

"Oh, great." The officer sighed. "You're Fire Nation, aren't you?"

"Yeah."

"Well, everyone in the Fire Nation has a last name."

"Not me. The royal family has no last name. Our family predates written history."

"The _what_?"

Chow answered. "We forgot to tell you. He says he's _Prince Zuko_. You know, the Fire Lord's son?"

The lieutenant hung his head in frustration. "Seriously?"

Zuko took a deep breath and sat up straight. "My name is Zuko. Son of Ursa and Fire Lord Ozai." He looked at the men who arrested him. "Prince of the Fire Nation and heir to the throne."

"All right, _heir to the throne_. How old are you?"

"Fifteen."

"Fifteen? You're just a kid!"

Zuko bristled. "I am _not_ a kid!"

The officer ripped up the paper he had been writing out. "You're a kid. You should be _glad_ you're a kid, because that means we won't charge you with anything – even though you deserve it!"

Zuko was about to speak, but wisely closed his mouth.

"So where are your parents, son?"

"Not here." Zuko said between clenched teeth. "I'm traveling with my uncle."

"So where's he?"

Zuko shrugged. "I left him at a tailor's shop at the port-side market."

"Great. You left him _shopping_ to get into a fight at the courthouse."

"That guard shoved _me_ first."

The man lifted a hand. "Whatever. The chances of him still being at the tailor's are probably slim, but we'll send someone there anyway. What were you doing at the port?"

"I told you that I'm traveling with my uncle."

"Don't get smart, kid. I can still keep you in here overnight, if you're too mouthy."

Zuko lapsed back into glowering silence.

"Did you come in on a ship?"

Zuko nodded.

"What's the ship's name? Maybe we can find your uncle that way."

"No name. It's a number."

"A number, eh? What's the number?"

"_FLS thirteen_."

"_FLS thirteen_? It's a military ship?"

"Yeah."

"Your uncle's a navy man?"

"No. He _was_ a general."

"A general, eh?" The lieutenant was obviously skeptical. "What's his name? I guess, since you're _Prince Zuko_, it must be _General Iroh_!" He started to laugh, and the other men joined in.

"Yes." Zuko said quietly amidst the laughter.

The officer stopped laughing. "What's that?"

Zuko looked him in the eye. "I said _yes_. His name is General Iroh."

"Oh, for spirits' sake!" He waved his hand at the prince. "Go put him in a cell until we straighten this out." He pointed at Zuko suddenly, his face angry. "You know, kid, you are going to be in _a lot_ more trouble. You're sending us on a wild goose-sparrow chase, and it won't go well for you."

"I'll take my chances."

The guards pulled Zuko to his feet.

"Which cell should we put him in?"

"For crying out loud! An _empty _one. You want to put a minor in a cell with what – a burglar? Or a murderer?"

"Right. Sorry."

They led Zuko through the garrison to the cell block, and passed him onto another guard, who walked him to an empty cell. That guard removed the manacles from Zuko's wrists, and motioned him within the cell.

"No problems, boy. Got it? There's a bucket for you to use to relieve yourself, and a water bucket. _Don't _get those two confused."

Zuko shook his head, and looked around him as the door clanged shut. The two buckets the guard mentioned were on one side, and a bunk attached to the wall took most of the rest of the space. There was a ratty-looking mattress on the bunk and Zuko pulled it off before lying down on the bare metal.

He cushioned his head on his bent arms, and stared up at the ceiling. He hoped that Uncle showed up soon. He really, really did.

* * *

Five hours passed before Iroh arrived at the garrison, when nighttime was close. Zuko spent the last hour of that time fretting anxiously; the hour before that he spent exercising, and and the three hours previously, thinking.

Thinking about the avatar.

Thinking about his father.

Thinking about his mother.

Thinking about Lan Chi.

All of that thinking led Zuko to the decision that too much thinking was a bad idea, so, lacking anything else meaningful to do with his time, he decided that push-ups might be a good idea, followed by star jumps and sit-ups. After exhausting both that idea and himself, he lay on the bunk, arms folded across his chest, and worried about Iroh.

He worried that Iroh was hurt.

He worried that Iroh was dead.

He worried that Iroh was not coming.

He worried that Iroh had left him behind – again.

"Prince Zuko!"

_Thank the spirits_! "Uncle!" Zuko jumped off the bunk.

"My goodness, Prince Zuko! I cannot believe I have found you!"

Iroh was followed by an unsmiling guard, who unlocked Zuko's cell.

Iroh rushed in and hugged his nephew, who accepted the embrace stiffly.

"What took so long?" Zuko asked petulantly.

Iroh stepped back and scratched his head sheepishly. "Well, as it happens, I left the tailor's and, heh, heh, found a small tea shop. Look at your new clothes!" He exclaimed, touching a rip in Zuko's shirt.

Zuko folded his arms. "You've been drinking tea while I've been _rotting_ in a cell?"

"Well, _rotting_ is a strong word, Nephew. My goodness! What happened to you?" He touched a cut on Zuko's scar, and Zuko stepped back, out of Iroh's reach.

"Later, Uncle. Let's get out of here."

As they left the cell, they passed the lieutenant, standing, arms folded, against a wall. "Well, well. The boy was telling the truth." Although his words were jolly, his expression was sober, telling Zuko that he did not approve of the prince's actions that day.

Zuko stopped before him. "I told you who I was."

The lieutenant gave a mock bow. "Forgive us, _your highness_, for not believing that a prince of the realm would be brawling at a courthouse."

Zuko reddened, and turned his back on the man pointedly. "Let's go, Uncle."

"We won't be seeing you again, will we, Prince Zuko?" The lieutenant called after them, but Zuko ignored him.

As they climbed into a hired carriage, Iroh looked at Zuko with concern. "Would you like to tell me how you got in a fight at a courthouse?"

Zuko sat against the cushions before speaking. "I was looking for Lan Chi."

The carriage started forward, and Iroh fell onto his own seat. "I think you may have been looking in the wrong place, Nephew. Lan lives in Lao Hai. Where we were less than a month ago. Where _you _refused to even _see_ her."

Zuko slammed his fist against a panel. "I know! I know, Uncle! But she's here – or at least she _was_. And I mean to find out which. And if she is still here, I intend to see her."

"How did you discover she is here?"

"I overheard people talking at the tailor's. She is here with her Uncle Fai, working as his scribe."

"Working? You must be mistaken."

"I don't think so. I need to find her, Uncle. We have to find out where she might be staying."

Iroh allowed a small smile to come to his face, which, in the dark, Zuko could not see. "What caused the change, Nephew?" He could tell that Zuko was looking out at the dark street.

When Zuko answered, his voice was quiet. "If destiny has brought us to the same place at the same time, I am not going to reject it, Uncle."

* * *

They returned to the ship after Iroh convinced Zuko that barreling into all the inns in town at night would be counter productive, especially if he attracted the attention of the local garrison – again.

Zuko bathed and had his injuries attended to, which included, besides the cut on his scar and lip, a bruise under his right eye, and numerous bruises from falling down the stairs of the courthouse.

"Well, Prince Zuko, when you get into a fight, you do not do it halfway." Iroh dabbed alcohol onto one of the cuts.

"Ouch! It was _his_ fault, Uncle. I just wanted to talk to the bailiff about Fai Liang."

"Hmm. Well, if it becomes necessary, _I_ will talk to the bailiff. Surely they will not deny entry to the Dragon of the West."

Zuko gave his uncle a dry look. "Surely not."

Iroh smiled. "Now I think it's best if you got some rest. We have a task for tomorrow."

* * *

The task was not as difficult as Zuko had imagined that it might be.

Iroh, as he had predicted, had little trouble gaining entry to the courthouse, and successfully located the bailiff. Unfortunately, the only information the bailiff had of Fai Liang and his scribe was not good for either Zuko or Iroh. Judge Liang had been there, certainly, but he and his party had left the week before for another town – which town the bailiff did not know.

Zuko took this bit of news with stoicism, betraying none of his feelings.

He also decided that it was prudent to depart Xin Xian De, and leave the pursuit of the avatar to some time in the future. It was obvious that the garrison would provide little assistance, and, since there were no reported sightings of any airbenders, Zuko felt confident in putting off a search in this region.

That night, as their ship pulled out of its berth and slid into the calm waters of the harbor, Zuko and Iroh stood side by side on the deck, watching Xin Xian De shrink on the horizon.

"There was never a very good chance that we would find her here, Prince Zuko."

"I know." Zuko's voice was toneless.

"It was a fluke that she was even here."

"Yes."

Iroh watched Zuko for a few long moments. Even though his nephew's face was expressionless, he knew what was behind Zuko's inscrutable look – disappointment, and perhaps even despair. "But knowing that does not make the pain any more bearable, does it?"

"I was a fool, Uncle. I thought that destiny was bringing us together, but, instead, it was just proving to me that, no matter how much I might want it, we will always be separated. I was right at the first; we need a clean break. No attempts at communication. No chance meetings. She isn't mine anymore, and the sooner I realize that, the better off we both will be."

"So, is that it, then?"

"Is what _it_?"

"You've given her up?"

Zuko was silent.

"You don't need to, Zuko. You needn't make a decision so _final_. Do you believe you will find the avatar?"

"Yes. I must believe it."

"And, once you find him, do you intend to claim Lan Chi?"

"Yes. If she'll still have me."

"Then do not make such drastic proclamations."

Zuko turned to Iroh and he was, at that moment, the Zuko of old, plagued by uncertainty and a need for reassurance. "What if I never find him, Uncle?"

"Of course you will, Prince Zuko."

"What if she doesn't wait for me?"

"She said that she would wait for you forever, did she not?"

"Yes. But that was a long time ago."

Despite his instincts, Iroh _wanted _to reassure his nephew. "She is not so inconstant, Nephew. If she has said that she will wait, she will."

* * *

"Prince Zuko, I fear that your mind is wandering."

Zuko, who was practicing firebending forms on deck, dropped his arms and turned to Iroh. "Uncle, I know what I did wrong."

"Good, good. I'm glad you understand; your arms were too high, and your back was not straight –"

"No. I mean in Xin Xian De. At the courthouse."

Iroh showed surprise. "Oh. I see. In Xin Xian De. In Xin Xian De? What did you do wrong in Xin Xian De?"

"At the courthouse. I attempted to gain entry at the front door. I should not have. I wasted time, and energy. I could have gone in the rear entrance, with no one the wiser. I could have found the bailiff on my own."

"Or you could have just taken some identification along with you."

Zuko gave him a disgruntled look. "You know, as well as I, that _my _identity can sometimes be a hindrance rather than a help."

"That is true," Iroh conceded.

"I need to be able to be able to get in and out of buildings without being seen – or heard."

Iroh nodded slowly. "I agree that, sometimes, stealth is useful – even essential."

"I need to be agile...nimble."

"Yes, I can understand that desire. What do you propose?"

A sly smile crossed his face. "Practice."

* * *

Up the stairs in soft boots, making no sound.

Past the sailors' mess while they were eating.

Past the engine room and up more stairs.

Along the corridors of empty cabins.

Down the ladder, no rungs, hands sliding down the rails.

Feet on the floor – quietly; down another hallway.

Through the forecastle, and up the stairs onto the deck.

Over to the rope tied to the rail.

Over the side, hand over hand.

Down to the windlass chamber, and through.

He stopped, and breathing heavily, smiled.

"Very nice, Prince Zuko. Considerably quicker than last time."

Zuko sank down next to his uncle, who was seated on a cushion on the metal floor. "How do you know?"

"I haven't finished my tea yet this time. Tea?"

"No. I have more training."

Iroh's brows rose as he took a sip. "What now? Do it in reverse?"

"Yes. And then I need to work on my upper body strength."

"You are the one of the most driven young men I have ever met."

Zuko gave a slight smile. "Only _one _of them? I want to be _the_ most driven young man you've ever met." He grabbed the rope that was dangling outside, threw himself onto it, and disappeared up to the deck.

"Your father was," Iroh said quietly, and drained his tea cup.

* * *

Zuko hated handstand push-ups. He hated the burn that he felt in his shoulders as he lowered his head to the floor. He hated the foreign sensation of the blooding rushing to his head. He hated the constant balance checks that he was forced to make to stay in proper position.

But he loved them, too; he loved the pain. He loved it because it forced everything else out of his mind. No thoughts of the avatar and his own mission. No thoughts of his father or Azula. No thoughts of his mother. No thoughts of Lan Chi. Nothing to torture him. Nothing but the pain from the handstands.

Pain that he could bear.

It was also pain that brought results. He was getting stronger; he could tell. Ever since he had begun a campaign to improve his stealth and strength, he found his muscles had become leaner and stronger, and his stamina improved greatly. He could train longer and do more.

He noticed the difference not only in training, but in his everyday life. When he reached for things, he noticed the muscles in his forearms more corded. When he bounded up the long stairs or when he scrambled up the ladders, he could do it with little or no fatigue. He also found that he had an increased appetite, and slept better. He was using his body more efficiently, and that pleased him. When he finally did meet the avatar, he would be ready. More than ready.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Well, here we see Zuko really beginning the training that will lead to the birth of the Blue Spirit, and we also see, at the beginning of the chapter, how he is not quite ready to reconcile himself to the fact that Lan Chi is lost to him. However, by the end of the chapter, it appears that he has accepted that she will never be his, at least not as long as he is still chasing the avatar. So, to Zuko, finding that avatar means not only a return of his honor, but a chance to claim the woman he loves. That's a lot for a fifteen year old boy to bear...

Also, note the echo of Zuko's proclamation of his identit,y from _Zuko Alone, _to the lieutenant in the garrison. I always like to slip in actual dialogue from the series when I can!


	17. Chapter 17

**DISCLAIMER: ****DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN _NICKELODEON'S AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER_ OR ITS CHARACTERS. I just think Zhao's temper is mightier than his sideburns.**

**Author's Note**: WARNING: Violence against women is depicted in this chapter.

* * *

The rest of the progress went relatively unremarkable, and they arrived back in Lao Hai with no other mishaps.

All were extremely glad to return home after the harrowing journey, and none more than Lan Chi. She wanted nothing more than to sleep in her own bed every night, and to be spared the discomfort of strangers' eyes following her constantly.

Ming, too, was happy to be home. Upon her arrival, she retired to her room immediately to change and freshen up. Her maid greeted her enthusiastically, and began relaying all the latest news and gossip, which Ming listened to with only half an ear.

"And the general was _very _upset that he missed you and my lady Lan Chi."

Ming snapped to attention. "What did you say?"

The woman stopped unpacking to look at her mistress. "Just that General Iroh was so disappointed that he missed you, that he left you and Lady Lan Chi each a note."

"Wha? He was _here_? _Iroh_ was here?" She could not believe her ears.

The maid frowned. "Yes, my lady. Right after you left. He had hoped to see Lady Lan Chi for her birthday, I think, but," she shrugged, "Of course, he missed her. And you."

"He left a note? Where? Where is it?" This was bad. This was very bad. If Iroh and Zuko were here, to see Lan, and she had missed them, she would be inconsolable.

The maid fetched a folded piece of parchment from the bureau, and handed it over.

Ming broke the wax and unrolled the paper.

_My Dearest Ming,_

_I am so sorry to have missed you. Quite sorry, indeed. Perhaps I should have sent advance word, but I was not certain that Prince Zuko would allow us to come to Lao Hai. He has been avoiding coming here since we left Royal Caldera. He is so anxious that Lan Chi not see his disfigurement, and so uncertain what his welcome would be. He has become quite a changed child, so much so that I barely recognize him myself – not in his appearance, but in his demeanor._

_I had so hoped to see Lan Chi, and, although Zuko did not accompany me from his ship, I am certain that, given time, he would have relented and come to see her, as well. He is still very much in love with her, I think, although he will not admit it. He has become obsessed with finding the avatar, and, as you well know, Zuko's lineage is well-known for its determination. He thinks that, without the avatar, he has no honor, and he believes that he cannot offer for Lan Chi again until he has accomplished that task and restored himself in his father's eyes ._

_I fear that we will have to leave Lao Hai without seeing you and Lan, although that deeply grieves me. Please extend to her my love, and tell her that she is on my mind constantly._

_I have brought her a belated birthday gift, and I have written her a note, as well. Please see that she receives them both, as you see fit._

_Thank you so much, dear Ming, for caring for her, and please give Fai my thanks as well._

_All my best always,_

_Iroh_

Ming allowed the paper to snap back into a roll, and sighed. Oh, dear. This was not good. Not good at all. How could she possibly explain to Lan that she had missed perhaps her _one_ chance to see Iroh and Zuko? Oh, spirits! This was going to be hard!

"Did General Iroh leave a package and another note, by any chance?"

Her maid smiled. "Yes, my lady. It is in the sitting room."

Ming compressed her lips and nodded. She knew what she had to do. "Please send one of the footmen to the port immediately to determine whether General Iroh's ship is still docked there. And tell him to hurry. I want word within the hour."

* * *

Upon their arrival home, Lan collapsed on her bed and stared up, in relief, at the ceiling. Lan had sent Changda to settle herself, and so she listlessly began unbraiding her own hair. She was so tired – tired in body, but also in spirit. And she just wanted to sleep. Just close her eyes and fall into a deep, dreamless sleep, and wake when it was light again.

There was a soft knock on the door, and she heard Ming asking permission to enter. Lan called for her to enter, and sat up.

Ming came in, bearing a large, flat box. "May I come in?"

"Of course." Lan patted the spot beside her.

"Are you settling in?" Ming sat down, clutching the box on her lap.

"Yes. I intend to take a bath and then sleep for a day. What's that?" She pointed to the box.

"It's a birthday present."

She was confused. "For me? Aunt Ming, you and Uncle Fai already gave me a gift."

"It's from Iroh."

"Oh." Lan looked at it, puzzled. "How – how did he send such a big package via _hawk_?"

Ming shook her head. "He didn't."

"He had it delivered?" She was bewildered now.

"No." Ming shook her head. "He brought it – himself."

Lan's face drained of all color. "He – he _brought_ it? He was _here_?" She was incredulous.

Ming nodded gravely.

Lan's breath caught. Uncle Iroh had been there? With Zuko? Were they still here, or had she missed them? Perhaps they were still in port! Was there a chance that she might still see them?

"When? Do you know when?" She asked hoarsely.

"The day after we left."

Lan's heart began beating hard. She stood, still clutching the gift. "Are – are they still here? In Lao Hai?"

"I highly doubt it."

Lan handed the box back to her absently. "I have to get changed." She walked over to the bellpull.

"Lan Chi. There is a letter for you, as well. I think you ought to read it."

She looked at her aunt distractedly. "Not now. I – I have to get changed."

"Lan Chi, what are you planning?"

She turned back to her aunt as she slid the robe from her shoulders. "I – I have to go to the port. They may still be there."

"They are probably long gone." Ming tried to reason with her as Changda entered the room.

"Changda," Lan said, "lay out my red robe – the one with the jade trim, and have my horse saddled."

"Yes, my lady." The maid rushed to do her mistress's bidding.

"One minute, Changda," Ming stopped her. "Lan, stop this. I have sent a footman to the port to see if they are still there. _You _are not going to rush off down there willy-nilly. Now sit down." She turned to Changda. "Changda, dear, I am very sorry to interrupt you when you've obviously not finished your unpacking, but could you please have bathwater sent up for Lan? I think she is in need of a calming soak. And then go back to your room, for spirits' sake, and rest. I'll help your mistress."

Lan looked at her aunt in shock. "What? Aunt Ming, I am _not _going to sit here in a _tub_ while Uncle and _Zuko_ might be here in Lao Hai!"

"So you want to see them stinking of the road?"

She opened her mouth to speak, then shut it abruptly.

Ming turned back to Changda. "Please go ahead now, Changda."

The maid nodded and was gone.

"Now sit and read your uncle's letter. The footman should be back before long with news. And put your robe back on. You don't want the potboys to see you half naked."

Lan nodded, retrieved her robe from the floor, and slid it back on.

Ming handed her Iroh's letter, and Lan sank into a chair to read it.

_My Dearest Lan Chi,_

_I hope that this letter finds you well, and that you had a wonderful, joyous birthday. I am sorry that I arrived with no warning. Zuko was not certain that we would be able to come here, but, when it became apparent that it was indeed possible, I should have sent word. I am so sorry that I did not. It is my fault, entirely, that you were unaware of my arrival._

_Zuko is not with me now, although he is in Lao Hai. Or, perhaps it is more accurate to say that he was in Lao Hai, and that he will return. He is probably, even now as I write, on his way into the mountains to investigate the avatar's whereabouts._

_I am so sorry to have missed you – sorrier that I can ever express. I miss seeing your beautiful face every day, and I miss seeing you grow into a lovely young woman, and I know that Zuko feels the same._

_I hope that you enjoy this gift, and that you think of me when you use it._

_All of my love always,_

_Iroh_

Lan gave a heavy, sad sigh and put her face into her hands.

She felt Ming's hand light on her shoulder.

"Oh, Aunt Ming. Why? Why did I have to miss them?" She lifted her face to her aunt's.

Ming pulled Lan into her arms. "I know, Dear. I know. This is so much for you."

Lan slid her arms around the older woman. "Why couldn't I have been here? Why couldn't they have come _now_? Why?"

"Destiny has not been kind, that is certain."

Just then, the bath water arrived, borne by several of the younger servants, and Ming put Lan away from her.

"You'll have a nice bath and, by the time you're done, the footman should be back from the port. And perhaps, then," she said, smoothing Lan's hair from her face, "you'll have to get dressed to greet Iroh and Zuko."

Lan smiled wanly. "Do you think so?"

"Stranger things have happened." She hoped her skepticism did not show on her face, and, in an attempt to divert Lan Chi, she changed the subject. "Oh, you didn't open Iroh's gift."

Lan nodded, and pulled the gift onto her lap. It was wrapped in beautiful, pale yellow fabric and secured with a scarlet ribbon. She pulled the ribbon to reveal a pai sho set. Memories of playing the game with her uncle flooded her mind, followed by thoughts of the time she tried to teach Zuko the game, and ended up in his arms in the moonlight.

"Oh, a pai sho set. Iroh used to play that _obsessively_." Ming ran her fingers over the edge of the board.

"Obsessions run in the family, I guess."

* * *

The bad news came while Lan was stepping out of the bath, and so she was delayed hearing it for another quarter of an hour.

However, upon receiving the information that Iroh and Zuko were no longer in Lao Hai, Lan, so hopeful earlier, disconsolately threw herself onto her bed.

"I'm so sorry, Lan." There was concern in Ming's voice.

Her niece rolled away. "It doesn't matter. I was fooling myself into thinking that it would. Into thinking that things could be the way that they were. Into thinking that Zuko still – loves me."

Despite her desire to make her niece face the possibility that those thoughts might indeed be true, Ming also wanted to comfort her – and give her hope. "You cannot be certain that he does not."

Lan Chi gave a weary shrug. "If he did, he would have waited until I returned." Lan felt an overpowering grief creep over her; her throat began to ache, and she felt tears, inevitable and hot, start to run down her cheeks. It was all too much – the devastating knowledge that Zuko had not waited for her. It was all too much.

She put her face into her hands, and felt Ming pat her shoulder in an awkward attempt to soothe her. _You cannot do this_, Lan told herself. _This will not beat you. This will not destroy you. You are stronger than this._

**_No, I'm not_. **

She took in a deep breath. Well, she may not be stronger than _this_, but she could make herself _stronger_. She was tired of being batted around like a plaything. She had control over her emotions, even if she had no control over her life.

She drew in another deep, cleansing breath, wiped her cheeks, and turned over to face the other woman. "It's all right, Aunt Ming. I'll get over it."

* * *

The next several months fell into a pattern for Lan Chi. When she was at home in Lao Hai, she spent her days in her lessons, learning advanced self-defense and martial arts, as well as increasing her proficiency in embroidery and her acumen in the kitchen. She also made time for riding, and, at night, she practiced her transcription or, thanks to her aunt and uncle's birthday gifts, her waterbending.

Her abilities in that were growing greatly, and she was exhilarated. She had suppressed her waterbending for so long, mainly because she had, on her own, gone as far as she possibly could without guidance. Now, however, with the scrolls she had been given, she was learning many new skills, including water whips and shields and balls and even ice spears. One of her favorite things to do was to sit in the tub during her bath and manipulate a globe of water around the room. Sinking and rising, elongating and compressing, the orb bent to her will, which sent a thrill through her. Maybe, one day, she would _actually _become an accomplished waterbender.

She and Fai still traveled around the Earth Kingdom colonies for the assize courts, often accompanied by Ming, although, on shorter trips, Lan's aunt frequently stayed home. Lan enjoyed the travel, and her duties. She felt that she was learning quite a bit about both the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom during these progresses – not just about the law and not just about the land, but about the people – people who called themselves both Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom at the same time.

It was a strange dichotomy – the conquered and the conquerer co-existing, and, in some cases, becoming one. The marriages that were becoming more common, the families that found themselves with more than one bending ability or loyalty among their members, the friends who counted both fire and earth amidst their groups – she began to see that duality that was within herself reflected around her.

It was an odd, new world, and a brave one, to be sure, but, as Lan often noted, it was not a world that would be born without great pains.

The progress to Tian Sheng Shi started out as every other had. A voyage on a ship to reach a Fire Nation colony, an assizes court of several days, a journey overland to reach the next city. Nothing very different. Nothing that would have alerted Lan Chi that one of the biggest events of her life would be set into motion by simply attending a ball.

It was one of those humid nights in the Earth Kingdom that caused all of the clothes to cling to one's body. Beastly. Lan sat in a chair next to Ming Yi, against the wall, watching the dancers, languidly waving a fan to cool herself.

The three of them had arrived in Tian Sheng Shi a few days before, and, although the superior court session was not yet complete, Ming had talked Fai and Lan Chi into attending the annual "Flower Ball" that was the highlight of the social season in Tian Sheng Shi, and which, coincidentally, was taking place while they were in town.

Fai had agreed, reluctantly, and once at the ball, held at the home of one of Tian Sheng Shi's wealthiest Fire Nationals, had disappeared with his host and a number of old acquaintances into the library, which had been converted into a safe room for the men, where no dance music would be heard, and no giggling débutantes would be seen

Lan had dressed in a formal robe of jade green, trimmed in vermilion, her hair twisted over a formal headdress, and Ming Yi, prior to their arrival at the ball, had proclaimed her niece "stunning."

It was true that Lan was garnering a lot of stares from the other party-goers, but she attributed that to her hair color, not to any beauty that she could claim. And, to be frank, she was used to stares. However, sitting there, enjoying the spectacle of the dancing, she felt the odd prickling sensation that someone was _watching_ her. She looked around, but saw no one staring overlong or overtly. Still, she felt restless.

"Aunt Ming, I'm going for lemonade. Would you like some?"

"Yes, dear, that would be lovely. But, you know, _should_ you find another nice young man to dance with, I can go without."

Lan smiled. "Yes, of course." She had been asked to dance twice, but, as a stranger in this town, she felt uncomfortable dancing amongst them. Besides, although she was used to stares, she did not welcome being the object of _hostile _stares from all the other women.

She walked to the refreshment table and poured herself a cup of lemonade. With her back to the table, she raised her eyes over the crush of people in the ballroom. A man stared back at her from a spot where he was talking with another man. He was, perhaps, twenty or twenty-five years older than she, broad-shouldered and muscular, dressed in a Fire Navy uniform. His light brown hair was pulled back in a top knot, like most men in the Fire Nation, and he had substantial sideburns. His eyes were bold as they surveyed her, raking insolently over her, from her face down to her feet. She turned away from his gaze, refilled her cup, and filled one for Ming.

"Thirsty?" A smooth voice came from over her shoulder.

Mustering her most imperious facial expression, she turned to him. It was the man who had been watching her. She allowed her own eyes to take him in coldly, as he had done to her. "The second cup is for my aunt. Although why you think it is your concern is beyond me."

He ignored her pointed words. "Shall I help you carry them back to your aunt?"

She picked up both cups. "We have not been introduced, Sir, so I thank you, but no." She walked away, conscious of keeping her spine straight and proud. She could feel his eyes boring into her, and she got the feeling that he was looking at her hips as she walked away.

Ming smiled as she took her cup. "Thank you, my dear. Meet anyone interesting?"

Lan sat next to her and shrugged. "Interesting? I met someone, yes. I would not classify him as _interesting_, though. Strange."

"Really?" Ming's eyebrows arched. "Who did you meet?"

"I don't know his name. He's – older. Quite a bit older. Not as old as you, though, I think, Aunt."

"Well, thank you." She said dryly.

Lan smiled. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. I just meant – he seemed considerably older than me."

"Well, that _is _most of the world, to be honest. You're only fifteen."

"Almost fifteen and a half." Lan corrected.

"Yes, _that_ makes all the difference in the world."

"Well, no matter. He was insolent, anyway, and – I can't explain it well, but it felt like he was _touching_ me with his eyes."

"Oh. _That_ is interesting."

"Disturbing."

"Where is he?"

Lan obediently looked around the ballroom, and found him talking to another officer. She pointed him out, albeit surreptitiously. "Against the wall. There."

Ming craned her neck. "Which one?"

"The one with the sideburns."

"Oh. Him. Yes. I think I have met him before." Ming thought on it a moment. "He's a captain. What's his name?" Her brow furrowed. "Let me think. Cho? Choi? Zhu? Zhao? Yes, Zhao! Captain Zhao."

Lan considered Captain Zhao. "He's – _odd_. It almost seems like he – wants something."

Ming gave a bark of laughter. "I'll wager he does."

She turned to her aunt. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that you're bound to draw the attention of interested men."

"Oh, spirits!" She drained her lemonade. "_Interested _men! _I'm_ not interested! Besides, he's _old!"_

Ming chuckled. "An older man is often the best husband."

"Husband? Have your wits gone begging? I'm not looking for a husband! "

"So, if Zuko walked through the doors right now, you wouldn't run off and marry him?"

She opened her mouth to retort, but closed it. After a moment of thought, she responded. "He's not Zuko." She toyed with the fan hanging from her wrist.

"And Zuko's not here."

"Aunt Ming..."

"It does no harm for you to keep your options open."

"I am _not _keeping options open for someone old enough to be my father."

"You're exaggerating."

Captain Zhao made his farewells to his companion, and started to make his way through the crowd towards them, a smug smile on his face.

"Spirits!" Lan breathed. "He's coming over."

The captain stopped before them, and executed a stately bow. "Lady Liang, a pleasure to see you again."

Ming smiled, and inclined her head. "Captain Zhao. It has been a long time."

"Yes, indeed, my lady. Much too long. You are as ravishing as ever."

"And you are as facetious as ever. What brings you to Tian Sheng Shi?"

"Duty, of course. And you, my lady?"

During the exchange with Ming, Zhao pointedly ignored Lan, which both relieved and annoyed her in a way she did not understand.

"We are traveling with my husband. He is here for the assizes."

"Ah, yes, _We_." He turned to Lan. "I met this lovely young lady at the punch bowl."

"Of course, how silly of me. I forgot." Ming, who had forgotten nothing, turned to Lan Chi. "May I make you known to my niece, Lady Lan Chi Sun?"

His face registered surprise. "Sun? Any relation to Admiral Yan Sun?"

"He was my father."

Zhao bowed over her hand. "Then it is indeed an honor to meet you. Admiral Sun was a great man."

Lan suddenly felt more inclined to be charitable to Captain Zhao. "Thank you, Captain."

The band struck up another tune, and Captain Zhao smiled. "May I have this dance, Lady Lan Chi? With your permission, of course, Lady Liang?"

"My niece is not old enough to dance, Captain."

"My apologies. Of course. May I escort her in a promenade?"

Ming sent Lan a quick look. "If my niece is feeling up to it."

Although her initial feeling was to refuse, she extended her hand. He took it, she rose to her feet, and he tucked her fingers into the crook of his arm.

"I'll be back soon, Aunt Ming." She assured the older woman.

Ming waved a hand. "Take all the time you'd like."

A sly smile that neither Lan nor Ming caught passed swiftly over Zhao's features. He bowed to Ming, and they walked off, along the edge of the dance floor.

"A lovely event, wouldn't you say, my lady?"

"Yes. The flowers are breathtaking – especially in candlelight."

"Yes." He turned to her and smiled. "There are many things that look breathtaking in candlelight."

She blushed. "I - I am surprised that there is dancing."

"The gentility does not feel the need to suppress its spirit. That is left to the peasants."

"Oh." Lan was not sure what to say to that.

"Have you ever been to Tian Sheng Shi before?" He asked, changing the subject.

"No. I spent most of my life in Royal Caldera City."

"Ah. You're a city girl."

She laughed. "I suppose."

"And you live with your aunt and uncle now?"

"Yes. For about a year and a half now."

"Judge Liang is very well-respected."

"It is well earned, Captain." She smiled at him.

"Have you seen the gardens yet, my lady? By moonlight, it is said that the flowers almost _glow._"

Although a warning bell went off in her head, she subdued it. What could happen? He was, as she had said, old enough to be her father, and, besides, they were at a very crowded party, with her aunt and uncle nearby.

Zhao steered her towards the bank of doors that led to the terraced gardens, now flush with moonlight. "I had the privilege of serving under your father when I first began my career."

She smiled at him as he held the door for her. "Indeed? I understand that he was a demanding leader."

He laughed, and tightened his grip imperceptibly on her hand as they passed onto the darkened terrace. "Oh, yes. He was. But fair."

"I'm glad to hear that. I do not remember him very much. He died when I was very young."

Zhao's face became serious. "Yes. A tragedy." He led her down the wide stairs to the darkened gardens. "He was a great patriot. The Fire Nation lost a talented man when he was taken so early."

She frowned. "Thank you, Captain."

He turned to her. "Enough of this sad talk, my lady." They had come to the gardens, where row upon row of moonflowers stood with their petals reaching into the sky. In the benign light of the full moon above them, they did indeed seem to glow.

"Oh, this _is_ beautiful, Captain Zhao."

"I knew that you would appreciate them. Our hosts have quite vast gardens. They have a magnificent collection of trailing wisteria by the river. Their fragrance is intoxicating, so I have been told. I would be honored to show them to you."

Lan felt a momentary qualm about venturing so far with a strange man, but she pushed it aside. "Yes, thank you, Captain. I would be pleased."

He talked of inconsequential things as they made their way through the meandering gardens to the river. The wisteria beds stretched along the water, their twisting vines hiding benches and fountains in small courtyards.

"This is lovely." Lan inhaled the fragrant scent that was heavy in the air.

"I understand that these gardens have been growing since before Sozin."

"They are exquisite."

He turned to her, his expression half hidden in the moonlight. "So are you, my lady."

She had a sudden awareness that they had strayed far from the house. The sounds of music from the ballroom were only faintly audible, and she could not even see the building anymore.

"Thank you, Captain Zhao. That is very kind of you." She gestured towards the house with her fan. "We have walked quite a distance, have we not? I promised my aunt that I would not be gone long. Perhaps we should return."

She made to pull away, but he prevented her with a tightening grip on her arm. "Not just yet, my lady." His voice took on a menacing purr.

"You're _hurting _me, Captain Zhao. Please let go." She tried to pull away again.

"Perhaps you will like this better." He yanked her against him forcibly, and pressed a brutal kiss on her lips. She jerked back, raised her hand, and slapped him hard across the cheek.

She maintained her composure with difficulty. "I'd like to go back to my aunt, please."

"Not just yet, _my lady_," he repeated, making the last words an insult. He grabbed her wrist and hauled her against his body. She fought him, balling her free hand into a fist and cuffing him on the temple.

He smiled wickedly. "You have struck me twice, my lady. Now it's my turn." He pushed her backwards until her legs hit a bench, and she was forced onto her back, Zhao pinning her to the rough stone. He dragged both of her arms over her head and imprisoned them with just one of his own. She strained against him, but his strength was far superior to hers. She screamed as loudly as she could, but Zhao just chuckled, and placed his other hand on her neck in a mockery of a caress. "Go ahead and scream. We are far too distant from the house for anyone to hear you."

She cursed her foolishness in ignoring her instincts. She had walked into this situation of her own volition. "I shall tell everyone what you've done," she threatened.

"Go ahead. Who do you think they'll believe? A war hero or the child of a Water Tribe whore?"

She struggled against him again, trying to kick him, but her dress was pinned beneath his knees and she could barely move her legs. He placed his forearm over her neck.

"My uncle will – "

He interrupted her with a laugh. "Will what? Challenge me to an agni kai? Report me to my superior? How _public_ that would be! Do you really want everyone to know that _you_ are a whore, as well?"

Despite her danger, she pictured, in her mind, Zuko. How could she ever, ever face him if such a thing came out? Shame rushed into her face.

"It's a pity your father could not be here now, my lady. How I despised him! So sanctimonious! Marrying that Water Tribe _slut_! He could have had her and been done, but no! He chose to do the _honorable_ thing – there was no honor in marriage to that woman! He was a fool and a _mockery _of a man! Of a leader!"

"Get off me!" She struggled against him, but to no avail.

He put his full weight on her. "Now, I will get my revenge on him by taking his daughter's maidenhead." He brought his face close, and she could feel his hot breath on her. "Maybe even plant my bastard seed in you." He laughed again, a sinister, ugly laugh. "I knew exactly who you were the moment I saw you in the ballroom. Who does not know of General Iroh's red-haired plaything – the poor, orphan daughter of Admiral Sun. Was Iroh keeping you for himself, my dear?"

"You're disgusting! Let me up!"

"I think not."

She spat into his face. He roared in anger, and applied more pressure on her throat. Spots began to dance before her eyes, and she knew that she was close to fainting. She struggled against him; she must get free, and soon. If she fainted, he would be able to do what he wanted with her.

"Stop fighting me. I prefer you alert and responsive, but I'll take you unconscious if I must."

She ceased her thrashing, and the pressure decreased.

"Good girl," he purred. He reached down and loosened his belt and fumbled, one handed, with the opening of his pants. He tugged on the sash that held Lan's robe together, and ripped the sides apart, revealing her undergarments.

He leaned in for a kiss, and Lan gave in while her mind spun furiously. She must do something – soon. Waterbending was out of the question - her hands were immobilized, and revealing her water bending ability was always a last resort.

His lips crushed hers, and he forced open her mouth, sticking his tongue into it. She bit into his tongue as hard as she could, and he pulled back, howling in pain. He released her hands, and she took that moment to jab him in his Adam's apple with her fist. He fell back off her, gurgling, and she followed, finally free. She swung out with one leg and caught him in the midsection, throwing him off balance and into the river.

He floundered in the shallows, finally falling face forward into deeper water. He surfaced quickly and turned to her, murder on his features.

"Your mistake, Captain Zhao, was in thinking that I was helpless." She turned and rushed back up the path towards the house, gathering her robe around her.

Zhao slogged out of the river and watched as she ran off. He caught sight of something on the ground, and retrieved it. It was her fan. With a howl of rage, it broke in his hand, and incinerated it in seconds.

* * *

She rushed up the path, but, mindful of her appearance, she skirted around the edge of the house and ran to the large, semi-circular drive, where throngs of carriages awaited their owners. After a few minutes of frantic searching, she found Fai's coach, and rushed up to it, clutching her torn and dirtied robe around her.

The coachman was standing with a group of other men nearby, and she called to him as she yanked open the door of the carriage.

By the time he had reached her, she was within.

"Li," she said, her voice shaky, "please find my aunt and tell her that I have taken ill."

"My lady! Can I do anything to help you?"

"Yes, please. Just that. Tell her, but quietly, please. And tell no one else. And do not let Uncle Fai find out, if you can manage it."

"Yes, my lady." Even in the dark, she could see the concern on his face.

"Thank you."

He was off, closing the door behind him, and she sat back against the cushions. Luckily, Li had left a small lantern burning very low, and she was able to examine herself. She had scrapes on her forearms where Zhao had held her against the stone bench, as well as on the back of her legs from the struggle. There were dark red marks on her wrists, and she was certain there were matching marks on her neck, as well.

She placed a hand over her chest. Her heart was racing, and she felt sick to her stomach. She had come close, so close, to becoming Zhao's victim. She thanked the spirits for the training she had been given, and wondered at all the women in the world who had not been as lucky as she, and who had been so abused by a man.

Just then, the door was pulled open, and Ming's concerned face appeared. "Lan Chi, are you quite well – oh, spirits! Lan! What has happened to you?" With a quick look around, she climbed into the carriage, closing the door behind her.

Lan refused to look at her aunt. "Zhao. He tried to –"

Ming interrupted her, coming to sit beside her, and gripping her niece's hand. "Don't! Don't say it! Was – was he successful?"

Lan shook her head. "No."

Ming turned Lan's head and examined her face. "Are you all right? I – I mean, I know that you are not _all right_, but, did he – hurt you?"

Lan shrugged. "Some scrapes." She indicated her neck. "Some bruises. My throat hurts."

Ming Yi drew in a deep breath. "That – animal! I shall kill him! I shall have him hanged from the highest gibbet in the country!" She gripped Lan's hand. "I shall send for Fai, and we will –"

Lan's eyes constricted in fear. "No! No! You _cannot _tell Uncle Fai! You cannot!"

"What? Why not? He'll have that vermin clapped in a military prison so fast that he –"

Lan took both of her aunt's hands in a grip of iron. "You can't. You're right. Uncle Fai will do that – or challenge him to an agni kai, and I cannot – I _will not_ allow anyone to fight an agni kai in my name. Especially not Uncle Fai!"

"If it comes to that. It might not."

"No, Aunt Ming, please! No! _Please_ respect my wishes."

"I will make Fai promise not to –"

"He's a man of honor, Aunt Ming, and he will feel _honor_ bound to challenge him. And even if he doesn't, even if he simply brings Zhao up on charges, my name, _our_ names, will be dragged through the mud. And I won't face that. I won't allow that. It would destroy _everything_."

Ming put her hands up to cradle Lan's face. Her niece's eyes were alight with pain – and fear. "What do you mean?"

"Aunt Ming, do you really believe, if people _think _that Zhao – succeeded, that I would _ever_ have a chance to marry Zuko? He could not marry an – impure woman, or even one suspected of – that." Ming opened her mouth to respond, but Lan shook her head. "It doesn't matter that I am not - that Zhao was – not. Just the _rumor_ of that would," she drew in her breath raggedly, "ruin everything. I don't have much of a chance to be allowed to marry Zuko, Aunt Ming, but, if this becomes public, I will have _no_ chance. None at all. Please, please, do not tell Uncle Fai. I _beg_ you."

Ming sat through this speech in growing horror. "But, Lan Chi, he – Zhao tried to – to _violate_ you. He cannot go unpunished."

Lan nodded. "You're right. But let _me_ decide his punishment. And when he'll receive it."

"But, Lan –"

"Please."

Ming drew a deep breath. "If that is your wish –"

"It is."

She nodded. "All right. All right. Let's get you home."

"But, Uncle Fai. We can't leave him here."

"We'll send the carriage back for him."

Lan shook her head. She wanted to be _alone_. "No. _I'll_ go by myself and send it back for the both of you."

"I think that I should go with you."

"Aunt Ming. I – I just need to be alone."

Ming looked at her for a long time, then nodded. "If – that's what you want."

"Yes, please. _Please_."

Ming nodded. "I will see you later, then, back at the inn."

"And you promise that you won't tell Fai?"

Ming shook her head regretfully. "I won't tell him."

"Thank you."

Ming reluctantly left the carriage, and gave instructions to the coachman to take Lan Chi back to the inn and return for her and Fai.

The journey back to the inn was brief, and, as the carriage rolled to a stop, Lan was already out of the door and up the stairs. She ran to her room and threw open the door, interrupting Changda, who was turning down the bed. She raised her head, startled.

The maid looked in horror at her mistress's appearance and wild eyes. "My lady! What is wrong?"

Lan dropped her robe on the floor and began unwinding her breast bindings. "A bath. Immediately."

"Yes, yes, my lady. Of course. I will have the water brought up now."

Lan nodded distractedly, and continued shedding her undergarments. Changda's eyes watched her as she moved to ring the bell on the wall.

Standing nude, Lan kicked the clothes to the other woman. "Burn these."

Changda's eyes widened, at both Lan Chi's odd behavior and at the bruises and scrapes visible on her body. "My lady! What happened?"

"Nothing. Just – just get rid of these," she gestured at the pile of clothes.

"Yes. Yes, of course." She swept them off the floor and put them in a corner. "I'll take them down when I've seen to you." She tried to examine Lan's injuries, but her employer shook her off, and moved away.

"My lady, let me help you."

"Get me a bath. That is how you may help me."

"I'll – I'll go down and hurry them along." She opened a wardrobe and pulled out a fresh bathing robe, and held it out to Lan. "Here, put this on, my lady."

Lan shrank away. "No."

Changda looked at her as if she were crazy. "My lady, you must wear something. The water is going to be brought up. You – you cannot be _naked _when the servants arrive with it."

Lan Chi looked at her blankly, then gave a brief nod. Changda slid the robe onto her mistress with relief, and guided her to a chair. "You – you sit there, my lady. I will take these clothes down, and – and make sure the bath water is brought up." She gathered the clothes up and, after a worried look at Lan, she rushed from the room.

Lan sat dumbly on the chair, her mind whirling. She did not know what happened to her once she returned to her room. It was as if she shut off – as if she was looking at the scene from outside herself. Seeing Changda – seeing someone so _normal_, so divorced from what had happened tonight – had caused Lan Chi to simply snap.

She had needed the clothes off her body – the clothes that Zhao had touched with his loathsome hands. She lifted a hand to her head, and realized she still had the headdress on. Her hair must be an absolute mess. She pulled the pins from her hair and unrolled the bian fang from it, and tossed it across the room.

She leaned back in the chair and put her hands over her face. Spirits! How could she have let this happen? How could she have allowed herself to become so vulnerable? Why had she trusted Zhao?

Stupidity.

Stupid, naive belief in the essential goodness of man.

_Did you learn **nothing **__from Ozai_? _Did you learn nothing from **all** those years living in the palace_?

She sat up when the door opened, and a line of servants came in, each bearing two buckets of hot water. They filled the tub in the corner of the room with steaming, scented water, and removed themselves, leaving only Lan Chi and Changda. Changda dragged a privacy screen before the tub, and turned to her mistress.

"Would you like me to assist you, my lady?" Changda did not know what had happened to Lan Chi, but she knew, judging from her employer's actions and injuries, that it must have been _bad_. Very, very bad.

Lan shook her head. "No, Changda, thank you. That will be all for tonight."

"But, but, my lady –"

"I'll see you in the morning."

Changda pressed her lips together, but bowed and acquiesced to Lan Chi's wishes, leaving the room.

As soon as Changda was gone, Lan stood and dropped the robe from her body. She walked over to the tub, stepped in, and sank to her chin.

The soothing warmth of the water immediately calmed her, and she laid her head back against the cool metal of the tub rim and closed her eyes.

She thanked the spirits that she was a waterbender. She thanked the spirits that the water could soothe her so. She thanked the spirits that she had been given the strength to fight off Zhao.

She lifted shaking hands to her eyes, feeling tears come. She had not cried for so long – not for over a year. She had not cried over Zuko, and she had not cried over Iroh. She had not cried for all that she had lost, and she would rather see herself damned to a thousand years in the darkest depths of the spirit world than to cry over Zhao. He would not have that power over her.

She took a few deep breaths, and opened her eyes. She had much to do.

She had sent Changda away because, yes, she wanted to be alone, but also because she had to heal herself. She began with the bruises on her wrists and the scrapes on her arms. She healed them until the bruises faded to an ugly yellow and brown, and until the scrapes were only wisps of scabs. She must not heal them completely – such a thing would make Ming Yi suspicious. She could, however, reduce them until they appeared inconsequential. The bruises on her neck, however, _would_ have to be healed completely. Fai would be certain to notice those, and Lan could not allow that.

She got out of the tub and padded, wet and naked, to the vanity mirror. Pulling a stream of water from the tub, she sheathed it around her hand, and, concentrating deeply, she infused the water with healing properties and applied it to her neck. It was the largest area that she had ever attempted to heal, and doing so required all of her skills and attention.

The healing caused the sensitive skin on her neck to tingle and warm, and caused her hand to vibrate slightly. As the bruises began to fade, she felt a nausea rising in her stomach from exertion, but she pushed it down and tried to ignore it. As both healer and patient, she need to give her undivided attention to her task.

Finally the bruises faded completely, and she sent the water back to the tub. Afterwards, she leaned both arms on the vanity and hung her head, trying to quell the queasiness. After a few deep breaths, she looked at her handiwork in the mirror. There were no marks visible, and she smiled grimly. There was, however, a small split in her lip, and she touched it tenderly. It must have resulted from Zhao grinding her lips against her teeth in his parody of a kiss.

She bent water from the puddles she had left on the floor and healed her lip, as well, before returning to the tub. The abrasions on her legs would remain, and she hoped that there was a scar left behind – some tangible reminder of her foolishness – something that would caution her in the future to trust no one. She had been so lucky up until now, walking alone through the garrison with Corporal Sheng in Xin Xian De, disappearing into the city the times she had run away. She could have been victimized any of those times, but luck had been with her. She would not depend upon luck, however, from now on. She would listen to her instincts, and be vigilant at all times.

She washed her hair and scrubbed her body until it was pink, and then, after drying, she brushed her teeth and tongue, and all remnants of Zhao were gone from her body.

When she was finally, utterly clean, she looked at herself in the mirror, and saw a different person. A person with haunted eyes and a somber expression. She wondered if she would ever look like the old Lan Chi again, who unwisely trusted where she should not have, and she decided, standing there, that it was best if that girl, if _that_ Lan Chi, disappeared from the Earth forever.

* * *

After watching the carriage pull away from the ball, Ming Yi walked back into the house, righteous anger rolling off her in waves. In fact, all who saw her in her quest wisely stepped out of her way. She was obviously a woman on a mission of some import to her, and it was also obvious that she would not take kindly to any interruption.

Her first stop was the kitchen. She knew that, in all good households, the servants knew more about the guests than the hosts themselves, and she had a question or two about one of the guests that night.

Cornering the butler, who was busy overseeing the ongoing washing of wine glasses and punch cups while the cook supervised the plating of several hundred desserts, she backed him out of the room and into the pantry.

Confronted with the sight of a tall, elegantly dressed woman glaring at him, the butler wisely bowed and offered his services.

"I am looking for a guest." Ming Yi began. "Captain Zhao. Late thirties, early forties, brown hair in a top knot, massive sideburns. Where shall I find him?"

The butler's eyes widened. This was a question he had not been expecting, but he knew the guest she meant. He had already been pegged by the staff as _troublesome_, likely to steal the silver and more likely to try to force himself on the maids.

The man cleared his throat. "He has gone, ma'am."

Ming's eyes narrowed. "Gone where?"

"Left the party." The butler focused on a spot over Ming's shoulder so he did not have to meet her cold, threatening eyes.

"Do you know where he has gone?"

"No, ma'am. Presumably back to his residence to change his clothing."

At this, Ming leaned into the man. "Change his clothing? Why?"

"Well, ma'am," he looked at her briefly, "he apparently had an accident and fell into the river."

Ming almost smiled. _Good girl, Lan_! She should have known that Zhao would not have escaped from her niece unscathed. "Did he appear – injured in any way?"

"Well, ma'am, one of the footmen reported that he seemed to be – limping quite a bit, and his neck appeared rather – red."

At this, Ming stepped back, and she did smile – grimly. "Thank you."

With that, she turned and went back to the ballroom, ignoring anyone who tried to catch her attention. She was most certainly _not_ in the frame of mind to make small talk. She walked back outside, into the cool night, into the benevolent moonlight. How could something as beautiful and as soothing as the moonlight hide the ugliness that Zhao had perpetrated that night? How could he, under the gentle illumination of the moon, try to force himself on Lan Chi – try to violate her? And how many times before, to how many other women, had he done the same?

Ming drew in a deep, ragged breath. She did not know, but she was wanted to be certain that it never happened again.

She paced anxiously, waiting for her carriage to return, and, when it finally did, she sent the coachman in to fetch Fai.

The man had asked about Lan Chi before he had gone, and she had waved him off with the story that she would use should anyone ask – Lan Chi had a headache, and had gone back to the inn. It was the story that she would use on Fai, when he asked, which he certainly would.

Fai and Li returned only minutes later, worry etched on her husband's dear face. He _was_ very dear to her – a man without equal – kind, stable, protective, and sturdy. The kind of man to lean on in a crisis. And this definitely qualified as a crisis.

He took her hands firmly when he saw her. "Is aught amiss?"

Ming pursed her lips, and gestured him within. When they were seated, and on their way, Fai turned to her. "Where is Lan Chi?"

"She went back to the inn earlier. She had a – headache."

"Oh. She does get those rather frequently. I think it is too little sleep – or the stress of the job." He seemed satisfied with that answer, although he studied Ming's face carefully. "There – is something else, isn't there?"

She turned away to look out the window briefly. "Fai, if I ask a – boon of you, would you do it? Without asking questions? Without asking my reasons? Would you agree to it before you heard it?"

He sat back, startled. "Ming, what is this about?"

She looked at him then. "Would you?"

They stared at each other for a long while, until he nodded slowly.

She nodded, as well, and squeezed his hand. "There is a man – a captain – named Zhao. I do not know his first name. He was at the ball tonight. Do you know him?"

Dread caused Fai's stomach to drop. "I – I am not sure. What does he look like?"

"Brown hair, arrogant face, large sideburns."

"Yes. Yes. I know of him."

"Fai, I need you to make the promise to me now."

"But, Ming, I – "

"Promise, Fai."

Again, he looked at her for a long time before speaking, and, when he spoke, his voice was very serious. "Yes, I do. I promise."

"You need to get him sent away. You need to use _all_ of your influence, call in _all _of the debts that are owed to you by _all _of your friends in the army, in the navy, everywhere. You need to make _certain_ – make certain – that he is sent to the most dangerous front in the entire war."

"Ming! What is this about?" He was incredulous.

"You promised, Fai. You promised that you would do whatever I asked of you, without question."

"Yes, but what you ask is for me to send a man, perhaps, to his _death!_ To _toy_ with his _life_! I cannot do that lightly!"

"And I do not ask it lightly! I ask it knowing full well that it is anathema to you – to use your influence for such a sordid thing!"

"Then _why_ do you ask it?"

"Because I must! Fai, believe me! If there was any other way to handle this –"

"Handle what?!"

"I cannot tell you! And you promised that you would not ask!"

He sighed heavily. "I don't understand. I do not understand _this_ – request you make of me. And I do not understand _you_."

"Understand this, Fai." She took his face between her hands and forced her to look at him. "I pledge to you on our years together, on the lives of our four boys – on the _soul_ of our daughter," at this, he expressed shock, "yes, even on that!" She whispered. "That this is necessary. I _swear_ to you."

Fai watched her for what seemed, to him, like an eternity, and nodded. "I will do it. I will." He removed her hands from his face. "But you must know that I very well may be sending Zhao to his death."

Ming nodded and sat back against the cushions. "With any luck."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Wow, that was intense for me to write! Thank watching **_Revenge_** for the grim portrait of Ming! I had always known that she was a bit of a mother hen, protecting her children at all costs, but this surprised even me! It is odd how, in my mind, a character can almost literally take on a life of his or her own, and seem to manipulate events in the story. That has happened to me quite a bit – I can't explain it, and it sounds crazy, but it's true.

I had always intended for there to be an encounter of some sort between Lan and Zhao, to further set up the enmity that so obviously existed between Zuko and Zhao prior to the start of the series. It is this enmity that we see starting in their first words to one another in the third episode of season one, "The Southern Air Temple," in which Zuko and Zhao fight an agni kai - and, of course, which sets up the entire Zhao arc, from the business with the Blue Spirit to Zhao's attempted murder of Zuko to the final battle at the Northern Water Tribe between the two.

We also see another obstacle for Lan Chi to overcome – the emotional trauma that is inflicted upon her by the attempted rape. However, we also see that she is never truly beaten down – her training provided her an escape from Zhao, although not without some harm being done to her first; she was not unscathed. It will now be a challenge for her to continue on as if nothing has happened, since she has elected to keep the entire incident a secret, both to protect her family from the consequences of coming forward, and to protect her own chances of reconciling with Zuko, which she has _obviously_ not given up.

I hope that I have portrayed such a difficult situation with at least some realism. I know that no one could ever truly re-create, in a work of fiction, the horror of a situation like this, and I do not fool myself into thinking that I have, but I hope that I have, at least, scraped the surface and given Lan Chi (and Ming) some realistic reactions and emotions.

Please feel free to give me your feedback – and, if you do not feel comfortable doing so in public, please PM me, and know that I will take your comments very seriously, and that I will not repeat anything conveyed to me.

Thank you all again, so much, for reading this, and know that there will be happier times ahead for these characters. After all, life is a series of mountains and valleys, and one does not stay on either forever!

**NOTE: I just found out, via animechick247, that, because I merged two chapters, readers who have reviewed chapter 17 (which is now 16) aren't able to review this chapter. Oops! Anyway, if you would like to review, you can either PM me or review it on one of the other chapter pages. I am SO sorry I messed that up - live and learn, I guess! Thanks so much!**


	18. Chapter 18

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN _NICKELODEON'S AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER_ OR ITS CHARACTERS. I just think arctic hen tastes exactly like komodo chicken.**

* * *

When Ming and Fai arrived at the inn, Ming made an excuse to visit Lan Chi in her room. She found her niece sitting in bed, reading one of Fai's law books, and surrounded by others. With confusion on her face, Ming came over and sat on the bed.

"What are you doing?"

Lan looked around at the books. "Reading."

"Lan..." Ming began, and her niece looked at her. "_What _are you doing?"

Lan turned the book over. "I'm doing what I do every night."

Ming moved her niece's hair off her neck, expecting to see the bruises that she had glimpsed earlier in the coach, but there were none there. She picked up one of Lan's wrists and examined it closely. She could see faded contusions there, and small scrapes. Lan watched her aunt, her pulse pounding.

"How do you feel?" She set Lan's hand down gently, and her niece gave a silent sigh of relief.

"Better than could be expected, I suppose."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

She shook her head. "No."

"Lan Chi, it is not good to keep it bottled up."

"Aunt Ming, there is nothing to talk about. I made a mistake in judgment, and I paid for it. End of story."

"Lan, you were nearly _raped_ tonight."

"I know, Aunt Ming. Believe me, I _know_. But it is no different than a sparring match. It was me against him. He tried to beat me, and he nearly succeeded. But, in the end, I won. And that is what I have to remember. And I also have to make sure that I learned from this."

Ming looked at her for a long moment. "That is very – admirable."

Lan picked her book up again. "It's also – essential." She gave a brief, rueful smile.

"For your peace of mind."

"Yes."

"I've told Fai that you have a headache, and that I would transcribe for him tomorrow."

"What?" Lan shut the book and shook her head. "No, Aunt Ming. That is _my responsibility_, and I will do it."

"Don't you think you should _rest_?"

"Rest? Aunt Ming, the last thing I want is to rest. To be stuck in this room, _thinking_."

Ming looked at her with compressed lips, and nodded. "I understand."

"Thank you. And thank you for offering."

Ming smiled slightly, and touched Lan's cheek affectionately. "You are so strong."

Lan covered her aunt's hand with her own. "I come from a long line of strong women."

Ming stood and patted Lan's thigh. "I'll let you get back to your reading."

At the door, Lan's voice stopped her. "You didn't tell Uncle Fai, did you?"

Ming put her hand on the door jamb. "No. He doesn't know a thing."

* * *

The nights became difficult for Lan Chi. She could not deny that. Sleep was elusive, and, when it did come, it was often chased away by dreams – images in her mind that woke her sharply, that took her breath away, and that left her with a pounding heart.

She tried to push away those images in the daytime, which may have been why they haunted her so at night. It was easier, in the daylight, to ignore them, and much easier, when she was busy in the courtroom, to forget the events of that night.

She did not know whether Fai or Ming Yi noticed any change in her; although she thought that there must have been something that manifested itself in her demeanor, she tried desperately to maintain a facade of normalcy.

She had continued to refuse to talk to Ming about Zhao – just to speak of it brought back waves of fear and shame, and although her aunt was sympathetic and kind, Lan would not change her mind.

Still, she would not allow the experience to destroy her – she would be a sorry student of Master Jiao Ao and a sorry daughter of her father and of the Fire Nation to allow such an incident to unmake her.

* * *

Home from the progress, Lan rededicated herself to her self-defense and martial arts, as well as to her archery. No one – _no one_, would ever be given the chance again to abuse her so. That was a pledge she made to herself that she was determined to keep.

She woke every morning as the sun was rising to practice her forms until her master came to further her education in martial arts. After that, she spent an hour on her archery.

She set up an effigy in the far end of the garden, and practiced, over and over, kill shots. Head, neck, heart – until her aim was flawless.

Aunt Ming came out one morning not long after their return to Lao Hai to find Lan Chi at her practice. She watched, impressed, as her niece let arrow after arrow fly to their mark.

She looked at the girl's target. It was in the shape of a man, with nearly a dozen arrows protruding from it. She gave a dismayed look. "Who it that supposed to be?"

Lan nocked an arrow and let it fly. It landed directly in the dummy's crotch. She smiled grimly and looked at her aunt. "Zhao."

"Hmmm. If only."

Lan shrugged and lowered her bow. "ll get my revenge someday."

Ming nodded, and patted Lan's arm. "Don't worry, my dear. What goes around tends to come around."

"What do you mean by that?"

"What I mean is that, even now," she gave a serene smile, "Zhao might be suffering his punishment."

* * *

Zuko walked onto the bridge, his spine and demeanor both stiff, as usual. Iroh was at the pai sho board, playing against the helmsman, who was neglecting his duties – which Zuko did not fail to point out.

"Prince Zuko, he's just taking a break. He has nothing to do anyway."

"Why not?" Zuko crossed his arms over his chest, his face drawn into a scowl.

Iroh thought that he looked like nothing more than a petulant little boy standing there, but he dared not give voice to his opinion. "Because we are going in a straight line, and even the cook can steer the ship straight." To illustrate his point, he waved a hand at the diminutive cook, who stood at the wheel.

"_The cook should not be steering this ship_! That is the helmsman's job, and if he is unable or unwilling to do it, maybe he would prefer to be back in _prison_!" The last word was a roar.

The helmsman jumped from his spot at the pai sho board, upsetting the pieces. He raced back to the wheel, pushing the startled cook away.

Iroh sighed. "Prince Zuko, look what you have done. I was winning, you know."

"I don't care! I don't care about your _stupid_ gambling." He turned to face the other men on the bridge. "This is not a pleasure cruise! We are at _war_! We are at war, and we have a mission to complete! A mission that may very well bring this war to an end – that might hand the victory to the Fire Nation! So I don't want to see you gambling, or dancing, or singing, or –"

"Breathing?" Came a low voice from behind him.

He whirled to identify the miscreant, while gales of laughter broke all around him. "Who said that? Who? I'll stop _you_ from breathing! Seditious malingerers!" Fire daggers appeared in his hands.

Iroh jumped up during his tirade, and rushed to Zuko, grabbing his wrists. "Prince Zuko! Calm down."

Zuko snatched his wrists away. "_I'm calm_!" He turned, and, seeing the pai sho board close to him, kicked it, sending all the tokens soaring into the air. He stomped off, leaving Iroh blinking after him and watching his game pieces roll around the room.

"That was unnecessary," Iroh mumbled.

Zuko walked out onto deck and slid down the ladder to the main deck below. He wanted to be alone. He just wanted to be alone. He could feel a familiar tightening in his chest, born of humiliation and frustration and loneliness and anger and hurt.

He walked over to the railing and gripped it, looking far out to sea, but seeing nothing. He squeezed his eyes shut and bent over until his forehead touched the cold metal of the railing. He was tired of being on this stupid ship! Tired of chasing the avatar! Tired of wandering the world! Tired of being away from his father! Tired of being homesick! Tired of missing Lan Chi! Tired of wanting her!

He was so tired of all of it, and he did not see an end. The avatar was nowhere to be found – and not even a _hint _of where the airbender might be had been discovered. It was like searching for a single drop of water in the ocean.

For a moment – for a very brief moment, Zuko hated his father.

He stood and arched his back, lifting his face to the sky, his hands still gripping the railing. He did _not_ hate his father. He could not. His father was everything to him. _Everything_. His father was the only man who could restore Zuko's honor, and give him back his former life.

He took a few deep breaths. He could do this. The avatar was alive. The sages said so. The old man at the Eastern Air Temple said so. The avatar was out there, and Zuko would find him. He would find him, and then he would go home.

He would finally go home.

* * *

"Breathe in, and then _out_, Prince Zuko. Sloooooooooowly. No, not so fast! You're not running a race." Iroh shook his head.

They were seated on the floor of Zuko's chamber, several candles between them. Zuko looked exasperated, and took a long breath in through his nose so that his nostrils nearly whistled.

"No, Zuko, stop! You're not trying to suck in the candle!"

Zuko slapped his thighs, breaking his concentration.

A displeased look came over Iroh's face. "You've done this before, Zuko. Do not act as if you have never meditated."

"I'm trying, Uncle." He settled back into position.

Unfortunately, at that moment, Taxiao, whom Zuko had finally discovered was a _she_, awoke from her nap, stretched, and walked over to her master. She climbed calmly onto his lap, and began kneading his leg with her claws.

"Ow. Stupid cat." He picked her up by the scruff of the neck, and set her down on the floor.

With a look of disgust at Zuko, she walked over to Iroh, who provided a much more ample lap, anyway. Iroh absently stroked her fur as she made herself comfortable

"Divorce your mind from the outside world, Zuko. Allow it to float free. Allow it to find peace."

"Find peace?" Zuko was incredulous. He shook his head. "This is ridiculous." He rolled backwards and to the side, getting to his knees.

"Why is it ridiculous, Zuko?"

"Why? Why? You tell me to find peace." He sat back on his thighs and lifted his arms. "How can I find peace when everything I do is a complete and utter _failure_?"

"Prince Zuko, that is an exaggeration."

Zuko gave him a pointed look, as if daring Iroh to find something that had gone _well_ in Zuko's life recently. Iroh looked dismayed.

There was a knock on the door, and Iroh's expression melted into one of relief. "Come in!" He said quickly.

"Uncle! This is _my _chamber. I'll say when people can come in. Come in – Jee."

Jee had already entered, and he bowed to both Zuko and Iroh. "Your highnesses. We are about to pull into Shan Bu Zai. Do we have your permission to dock, Prince Zuko?"

"Thank the spirits!" Although it was Iroh who said it, Zuko felt the same.

"Yes, Jee. Please proceed." Zuko stood. He pointed at his uncle. "Go change, Uncle. I want to go ashore as soon as we arrive."

* * *

They docked without incident in Shan Bu Zai, a mid-sized colony in the eastern Earth Kingdom. Several months had passed since they had left Lao Hai, and fall was now crisp in the air. In the distant mountains, snow was apparent, and Zuko frowned at it. Snow in the mountains meant that they could not venture there now. They would have to investigate places near by the colony, and return in summer months to explore the mountains.

As they disembarked, Zuko turned on the gangplank and stabbed Iroh in the chest with two fingers. "Remember, no alcohol, Uncle. You need to keep a clear head."

Iroh shook his head solemnly. "I won't touch a drop."

"Thank you."

Zuko had already given the men their assignments, and, as in the past, he and Iroh headed to the local garrison.

"Ooh, Prince Zuko, a market. Let's go!"

Zuko rolled his eyes. "Uncle, this is not _Iroh's shopping expedition around the world_."

"We are shopping for _information_, Nephew."

A heavy sigh came from Zuko's chest, and he allowed his uncle to lead him to the market, where the old man oohed and aahed over trinkets and gew-gaws and curios. Zuko followed him for a while, then, growing bored, he walked along the stalls until he came to a food vendor. Meat cooking over a low flame smelled delicious, and Zuko realized that it was lunch time. He dug into a pocket and came out with a few coins, which he handed over.

The meat was succulent and savory, and the juices dripped down Zuko's chin. He finished the skewer and wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

"You missed some."

He looked up to see a young woman about his age, dressed in Fire Nation clothing, smiling at him. He drew his brow down, his face turning red.

She smiled wider, and came up to him, holding out a cloth napkin. "Right there." She pointed at the side of his mouth, and, his face flushing redder, he took the napkin and wiped it across the entire lower half of his face.

"You got it."

"Thanks," he mumbled, and shoved the napkin back at her.

She took it from him. "I haven't seen you around here before. Have you just been posted to the garrison?"

He cast his eyes down. "No. Just passing through."

"Oh. You're really young to be in the army anyway, aren't you?"

He stole a look at her. She was pretty, with soft brown hair and brown eyes. "I'm not in the army."

"But your uniform..." she trailed off, gesturing at his clothing.

"It's just – honorary."

"Honorary?" She was skeptical. "I've never heard of an _honorary_ army uniform." She looked thoughtful. "Did you steal it?"

"No!" He was outraged. "Of course not!"

She held up her hands, placating. "Okay, okay. You didn't steal it. Sheesh! You're sensitive."

His face was dark. "I'm not a thief, that's all."

She nodded seriously. "I believe you."

He was silent, but nodded.

"So...you're passing through. To where?"

He shrugged, his eyes on the ground. "Around."

"Around? Don't you have a destination?"

Zuko was suddenly aware that he was standing there, talking to a _girl_. A girl who asked too many questions. "I have to go."

She put a hand on his arm to stop him. "Don't go. Look, I won't ask any more questions. I was just curious – that's all."

"I have to go anyway. My uncle's probably waiting for me."

"Oh. You're on a family trip?"

"Kind of." He kicked a pebble at his feet.

"Are you parents along, too?"

"No. My mother's – dead, and my father...he's at home."

"Oh. I'm sorry – about your mother, I mean."

He shrugged. "It's okay. It was a long time ago."

Her cheeks tinted pink. "So – how long are you in Shan Bu Zai?"

"Just today – probably."

"Oh. Why are you here for only a day?"

"I'm – looking for someone."

"And it will only take a day to find her?"

"Him."

"What?"

"It's a _him_. The person I'm trying to find is a man. An old man. And it's taking me a lot longer to find him than – well, than I thought."

"Oh. Is it your grandfather or something?"

A slight smile came to Zuko's face. "No. It's not my grandfather."

She looked puzzled. "Then who –"

"Nephew! I've been looking everywhere for you!" Iroh's booming voice interrupted the girl, and caused Zuko to jump guiltily. Iroh smiled broadly at the girl. "And who have we here, Zuko?"

"Uh, I – I don't know. Just a girl, I guess."

Iroh chuckled. "No, nephew, she is _definitely _a girl. Hee hee." He laughed at his own wit.

She smiled at Iroh. "My name is Jing Fei."

"And I am Iroh."

She bowed to him. "I see that you wear a Fire Nation army uniform, Sir. Is yours _honorary_, as well?"

"No, no. I am retired. My nephew's is honorary, though, I suppose. He _will_ command the army one day, of course, but –"

"Uncle!" Zuko cut him off, but the damage was done.

The girl paled. "C – command the army?" She turned to Zuko. "Who are you?"

"Look. We really need to go." Zuko grabbed his uncle's arm. "My uncle isn't feeling very well. He _hit his head_, you see. We have to go. Come, Uncle."

He began to drag Iroh away.

"Nice to meet you!" The older man waved at Jing Fei with his free arm.

After they were out of sight, Zuko turned on his uncle. "Have you lost your _wits_? Telling that girl that I'll command the army one day? Why don't we just bring out a palanquin and parade around the town square?"

"Well, a palanquin _does_ sound like a good idea. But I don't know about the parade, Zuko. It seems –"

"Let's go to the garrison. And _you_ will keep your mouth shut until we get there!"

* * *

Iroh greatly enjoyed his trip to the garrison, as he seemed to enjoy everything in life. He found that the colonel in charge had once served under the same general who had been Iroh's superior nearly forty years before, and the two men fell to swapping old war stories.

For Zuko, however, the visit to the garrison proved unsatisfactory. The men there had no idea where the avatar might be, and they had never heard any gossip about him anywhere. They did, however, have theories.

"Are there any places that someone could hide for a hundred years?" Zuko asked, rubbing his eyes. He was so tired of asking the same things.

The two sergeants that he was questioning exchanged looks.

"Yeah, I guess." At an elbow from his colleague, the older of the two men jerked. "I mean, _yes, your highness, Sir – _of course there are. There are abandoned Earth Kingdom villages in the mountains. Some that aren't abandoned, too. But, it seems to me that if _I _was the avatar, I wouldn't stay in one place. It would be too dangerous."

The other man spoke up. "Actually, if I was the avatar, I would have already beaten the Fire Nation's –" he seemed to forget to whom he was speaking, and blushed. "Sorry, your highness. I did not _mean_ that I want that to happen. Of course, I don't! It's just that, well – the avatar hasn't made a move for a hundred years. That tells me that he either isn't alive anymore or that he – " He trailed off.

"He what?" Zuko, despite being angered by the sergeant's borderline treachery, was interested in his theory.

"Can't. That he is prevented from doing anything."

"You mean that someone is holding him captive?" Zuko frowned. He had not considered that.

He shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe he's in a cage somewhere. Like the way the Fire Nation used to keep waterbenders. Or he's physically unable to make a move – for another reason. He's crippled or trapped somewhere. In a cave or something."

Zuko folded his arms. "But he can bend all four elements. What can trap an _avatar_?"

The man shrugged again. "I don't have any answers, your highness. It's just a – theory."

* * *

Zuko watched as Shan Bu Zai receded in the distance. He had opted not to ride out to the villages in the mountains there because of the winter weather. That was a lead that he would follow up during the summer months.

He thought about the sergeant's theory, and wondered if he was right – perhaps, wherever the avatar was, he was not at liberty to emerge. Perhaps the old man was a prisoner – or, perhaps he was sick, and unable to fight at all. But Zuko was certain that the avatar was alive – he did not know how he _knew_ – he just did. He did not need the sages and wise men to tell him so.

Iroh came up beside him and leaned on the railing. "An intriguing visit, wouldn't you say, Prince Zuko?"

"I suppose so."

"Did you learn anything of worth?"

Zuko shrugged. "No. I don't know. Maybe."

Iroh nodded, and looked out at the city shrinking on the horizon. "That girl, Jing Fei. She was very pretty."

"Don't start, Uncle. That girl meant nothing – less than nothing."

"She seemed interested in you."

Zuko's face darkened, and he turned to Iroh. "Uncle, what makes you think that I am interested in another girl? There will be no one until I find the avatar! _No one_. Do you understand? So cease your innuendos and feeble attempts at matchmaking – with Lan Chi or _anyone_. _I _am not interested. Now leave me be!" He stomped off, his hands clenched at his sides.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **So now Zuko finds someone interested in him, much like Lan has found interested boys. However, neither is willing to let someone else in – they remain, at this point, at least, true to one another, although Zuko feels that, at this juncture of his life, he either does not deserve love or has no time.

PLEASE REVIEW! Thanks to all who have reviewed; I appreciate the time that you take to comment - I read every one, and take everything you say very seriously.


	19. Chapter 19

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN **_**NICKELODEON'S AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER**_** OR ITS CHARACTERS. **** I just think Koh's face is so lovely that it's a shame he uses others!**

* * *

"Well, what have you done this time?"

Lan Chi looked up from the documents she was transcribing. "What do you mean?"

Ming Yi tossed a parchment onto the desk. Lan could see the broken royal seal on the edge of the paper.

"The Fire Lord has invited you to the palace." The older woman's eyes narrowed.

Lan Chi put down her brush and looked at the invitation idly. "Must I go?" She pushed it back to her aunt with the tip of one ink-stained finger.

"Oh, yes. You most definitely _must _go."

Lan sighed. She was attempting to complete the annual summary of her uncle's rulings in order to send it off to Royal Caldera by the start of the next calendar year, which was a little over a month away. She really did not have the time, nor the _desire_, to deal with Ozai's foolishness.

"It's a mistake."

"The Fire Lord does not make mistakes like _this_."

"You mean that Ozai would not invite me to the palace without an ulterior motive." Even as she said that, her stomach dropped.

"I did not say that."

"You didn't have to. It's clear. What do you think he wants?"

"I would not venture to know the Fire Lord's plans."

"Hmm." Lan tapped the brush against the table.

"It is a personal invitation for the New Year. It's quite an honor." Ming's voice was guarded.

"Why have I been invited?" Lan sat back and folded her arms across her chest.

Ming Yi shook her head. "I don't know."

"Do I _really _have to go?"

"Yes. You have to go. Refusing this invitation is tantamount to sedition."

"You're going with me." It was almost an order.

Ming Yi gave her headstrong niece a brief glance. "I have not been invited."

"I'm certain that the invitation is for the entire family."

"If it were, it would have said so."

"Surely they cannot expect me to travel by myself to the capital."

"It would be unusual to expect you to travel alone, but…" she trailed off.

"You expect nothing less from Ozai. I'm surprised he didn't decree that I _walk_ to the capital."

Her aunt raised an eyebrow.

"I want you to come with me." Lan repeated.

"I was _not _invited," Ming reminded her again.

"I won't go without you and Uncle Fai."

Ming gave a short laugh. "Now you want your uncle to go, as well. Should we take the entire household?"

"Just the three of us and Changda." Lan grinned suddenly.

"I doubt that your uncle can spare three weeks for a journey to the capital, and then the same back. Not to mention the time spent there, as well!"

"Why not? Assizes do not start for a month and a half, and I am certain that he can postpone them for a week or so to go to the R.C. After all, while he's there, we can file the rulings, and he can meet with all the men he usually has to communicate with by letter. I would think that this would be a wonderful opportunity for Uncle Fai to show them how much he has accomplished."

"I don't know…"

"And what about you? You haven't been to the capital in at least ten years. You can catch up with the latest fashions, see all of your old friends, pick up some lovely new things for the house." She could almost see the speculative thoughts in her aunt's head mirrored on her face.

Ming looked at her shrewdly. "Well, I suppose _I_ could spare some time to go with you. After all, it is unheard of for a young woman of marriageable age to travel by herself unchaperoned. And you are right about Fai, I must admit. It might do him so good to _be seen_, as it were."

"Thank you, Aunt Ming. You won't regret it!" She jumped up and threw her arms around the older woman's neck.

"Oh, but we'll have to leave in no more than a week if we expect to get there by the new year. That does not leave us much time to get ready."

"Oh, we'll be ready. I guarantee it."

Ming sighed. "I'll talk to Fai."

Lan smiled. "You are the greatest of aunts, Ming."

"That is true." She looked at the clock. "It's still early. If I catch him now, he might be in a good mood."

"Thank you." She watched her aunt leave, then drew the invitation to her.

The writing was beautiful, elegant and ornate, and her fingers traced the characters absently.

_You are hereby invited for the festivities of the New Year at the Palace of the Fire Lord in Royal Caldera City. The Fire Lord has personally requested your presence on that most auspicious day. The Royal Family eagerly looks forward to your arrival._

Lan gave a short laugh. _The Royal Family eagerly looks forward to your arrival_. Ha! The Royal Family consisted of Ozai and Azula, neither of whom could possibly look forward to her arrival. She wondered again why she had been invited. Not because of any benevolence on Ozai's part – that _was_ certain. And for the new year's celebration? It was a rather important holiday, but she had rarely celebrated it – they did not, of course, celebrate it at the Royal Fire Academy for Girls; although Iroh did celebrate it, it had always been a low-key occasion, and, with Fai and Ming, the new year meant only that all of Fai's judicial duties for the year must be completed and filed prior to the start of the next year.

So why did Ozai want her to return to the capital? She could not imagine any reason. Perhaps it really was a mistake on his part? Perhaps he had informed his secretary to be certain _not _to invite her, and the man – that awful Feng, who had hit Zuko so long ago, had misheard. Would Feng be in trouble for bringing her to the capital? Lan hoped so. She knew that it was petty and mean of her to wish ill tidings upon anyone, but she still had not forgiven the man for his mistreatment of both her and Zuko. It would serve him right if he got in trouble for issuing a mistaken invitation.

But to go back to Royal Caldera City? Back to the city – to the house where Ozai and Azula still lived, but Zuko _did not_? She really could not bear the thought. But part of her wanted to go back – wanted to have the chance to see Hua, and Lan Chi was interested – interested to see what would happen; surely Ozai would not throw her in jail just for coming back, especially if she had an invitation. But what if it was a trap?

_A trap_? _Really, Lan Chi, you think that the __**Fire Lord**__ has set a trap for __**you**_? _Do you think yourself so important_? _Because I can assure you that Ozai does not_.

No, she was not important to Ozai – she was a thorn in his side, at best, but surely not one so severe that he would attempt something so _conspiratorial_.

She folded the invitation carefully. It would definitely be prudent to carry this with her when she returned to the capital, just in case.

* * *

"Fai, we got a very interesting letter today." Ming's voice was deceptively casual as she sat herself in front of the desk in his study.

"Did we, Dear?" He asked absently, moving a pile of paper and searching through it.

"Yes, indeed. From the capital."

"Ah, how interesting. Which of your cronies sent it?" He continued leafing through the pages laid out on his desk.

"Actually, it was from the palace."

At this, he looked up. "The palace."

"Yes." She nodded.

"The _palace_ of the Fire Lord." He attempted to qualify it.

"How many do you know?"

He sat back. "Just the one. Was it from Iroh's man?"

"Zhushou? No. It wasn't. Although perhaps I should contact him."

"You could, of course. You could also tell your _husband_ what was in this missive from the palace."

"Oh, I didn't say?"

"No. You did not."

"Oh. Well, it's an – invitation."

"An invitation?"

"For Lan Chi."

He sighed. "Ming Yi, I refuse to pull the information out of you detail by detail. Do tell me what it is, please, in one fell swoop, so that I may move on to the fretting or the outrage that you are obviously expecting from me next."

She gave him a disappointed look. "Fine. Ozai has invited Lan Chi to the palace for the new year's celebration."

It took Fai a moment to process his wife's words. "Really? How – singular."

She goggled at him. "Singular? Is that all you can say? How – _singular_?"

"What should I say?"

"Well, you might say, '_how troubling_.' You might say, '_why_?' You might say '_what is Ozai up to_?'"

"I apparently do not need to say any of that, as you already have."

She slapped her thighs with her open palms in frustration. "Oh, Fai! How can you be so _vexing_?"

"Oh, there's another thing I could have said. How – vexing."

She stood up. "Fai Liang! How can you be so cavalier about this?"

"About what? About our niece, the adopted daughter of the Fire Lord's brother, being invited to attend a holiday celebration at the house where she grew up? Perhaps it's not so singular, after all." He said thoughtfully.

"No, it is _singular_! And _troubling_! And _vexing_! What shall we do?"

"_We_? We will let her go. Of course. We cannot oppose the Fire Lord on the basis of the request being _vexing_."

"Let her go? We cannot_ let her go_! We can accompany her, and, of course, _we_ shall, but we cannot _let her go_!"

"Oh, ho, so now we get to the heart of it! She is to travel to the capital, and you would like to go with her. Fine, if that is what you wish. I don't know why you should get so indignant."

Ming smiled mischievously. "You mistake me, Sir. _I _am not going to accompany her. _We _are going to accompany her."

Fai's brows shot up. "_We_? I'm afraid not, Darling. I cannot leave for such a period."

"And why not? The assizes do not start until a month _after _the new year, and we are more than a month before the new year now. That is almost _two_ months, Fai, before you must return. Besides, you could always postpone them by a week or two."

"Well, as much as I appreciate your mathematical prowess, dearest, I must spend the next _month_ getting the final summary judgments together for filing."

"For filing _where_, exactly?"

"In Royal Caldera, of course. Oh, no! I know what you are thinking!" He pointed at her.

"If you knew what I was thinking," she said, looking down her nose at him, "then you would already know what a superior idea it is. You must send the summary precedents off to the capital anyway. Why should you and Lan Chi _not_ complete them en route, and file them when we arrive? They will actually get there more quickly than any other year!"

"I do not like to delay my progresses. It reflects ill on my office."

"It reflects _well _on your office for your subordinates to know that you postponed the progress to attend festivities at the palace. Invited by the Fire Lord, no less."

"_I _was not invited by the Fire Lord."

"You were, practically. And they would not know that."

He looked at his wife speculatively.

Seeing his objections break down, Ming continued. "And you'll get a chance to see the Imperial Supreme Adjudicators in person for a change. There is just _so _much that you could do while you are there!"

The Imperial Supreme Adjudicators were the highest judges in the land, and therefore Fai's superiors. It would be the perfect chance, Fai reasoned, to meet with them and brief them, face-to-face, on those things that could not be easily communicated via letter or via written precedents. Yes, this visit to the capital could be very successful, indeed.

"I suppose that we _could_ go."

"Oh, Fai!" She ran around the desk to hug him. "You are the best of husbands!"

He chuckled, and rubbed her arm affectionately. "That is true. However," he began, but trailed off.

"However what?" Her eyes narrowed.

"I must say that I am suspicious of Ozai's intentions."

"As am I. What could he want?"

He looked only briefly at his wife. "I have no idea."

"We shall be vigilant."

"Yes. Yes, we shall."

Ming gave him a kiss and, with a smile and a soft pat on his cheek, was gone.

Fai sat silently, thinking. He did have an idea about Ozai's intent. Nothing would be gained by giving them voice, however. He had nothing to base his hunch on other than intuition, and he did not want to cause Lan or his wife undue anxiety. He would keep his own counsel.

* * *

The next week was a flurry of activity in preparation for their departure for the capital. Although Lan had recently had an entirely new wardrobe made up, Ming insisted that her niece take only minimal clothing along and purchase more in the capital, where they would be sure to get the latest fashions.

Luckily, Fai had been able to arrange for a direct sailing that would take only a little over three weeks to reach the capital, and would put them in Royal Caldera City in time for the new year.

Lan Chi, who had seemingly accepted the notion of a return to the capital sanguinely, was, in fact, dreading it. Dreading going back. Dreading seeing the palace. Dreading seeing all of the places that she and Zuko had been. Dreading seeing Ozai and Azula.

She did not, however, tell her aunt any of this. It would do no one any good, and her aunt would feel obligated to try and comfort her, and Lan did not want to be pressed to discuss it with her well-meaning aunt. Ming had already been treating her very gently since the Zhao incident, which only served to make Lan feel worse. She did not want to be treated differently – it made her feel as if there was something terribly wrong with her, as if she were fragile. And she could not think that way. She was strong. She had to believe that, to get through seeing Ozai again.

She knew that any trip to the capital, any invitation to the palace, would include at least _seeing _Ozai, and Azula, as well, and she had to prepare herself for that. Prepare herself to see shades of Zuko in his father – prepare herself to see the man who had ruined her life. Prepare herself also to see the remnants of her life, and what might have been had Zuko not fought the agni kai.

She often thought, in the week leading up to the journey, that her will would collapse, and that she would refuse to go, and cower in her room, numb. There was, however, a well of stubbornness in her that would not allow her to do that. If there was one thing she was resolved to do in her life, it was to show Ozai that she would not be defeated by him. That she would not be broken by him.

She would face him, and she would look him in the eye, and she would not waver.

Even if she was broken on the inside.

* * *

The journey was surprisingly easy. Ming had no seasickness, and between putting the finishing touches on the judicial summary with her uncle, and the waterbending she practiced every night alone in her cabin, Lan kept herself occupied. She was relatively undisturbed by worry or memories, although, late at night, she would awaken with her heart pounding after a nightmare, visions of either Zhao or Ozai, or sometimes, both, torturing her.

Sleep was usually impossible after that and she would lie in her bed and stare at the ceiling or get up and stand at the window to watch the ocean ripple past.

She sometimes wondered if it would get better, if she would ever be truly happy again. If she would ever open her eyes in the morning and look forward to rising and starting her day. She could will herself to move forward, but she could not will herself to be happy, and she wondered if that was really what Ozai's victory over her was.

* * *

Lan Chi stood on deck as the ship pulled into port in Royal Caldera City, gripping the railing with whitened knuckles. It looked the same, the spire of the palace tower higher than anything else nearby, with the neatness of the city around it, and the beauty of the wildness of the land that surrounded the entire city.

A lump formed in Lan Chi's throat. She was home; despite everything, she was home.

Ming put a hand on her arm and smiled. "I had forgotten how beautiful it is."

"Yes, it is."

"Are you scared?"

"Yes. I don't know why I should be. If Ozai even _knows_ about the invitation, I doubt he would call me back here just to throw me in prison. And surely not even _he _will attempt such a thing with you and Fai along."

Ming slid an arm around her. "I'm sure it is all completely innocent. Perhaps he has had a change of heart about you."

Lan gave her a jaded look. "It's been a while since you've seen Ozai, hasn't it?"

Ming laughed. "Admittedly."

Lan drew in a deep breath. "I'll just have to brazen my way through this visit – but that doesn't mean that I won't keep a low profile and stay out of Ozai's way."

"Oh, dear." Ming frowned. "That may be a bit of a problem."

It was now Lan's turn to frown. "Why?"

"Well, I have a bit of a surprise for you."

Ming raised her arm and began waving vigorously at the dock. Lan spotted someone standing onshore mimicking Ming, and a smile spread across her face.

"Hua! Hua!" Lan began waving frantically, as well.

She turned to her aunt, a wide smile. "Is that my surprise?"

"Part of it."

* * *

Lan waited anxiously to disembark, and, when the gangplank was finally lowered into place, she was the first off the ship, muscling her way past all of the other passengers waiting to leave, throwing herself happily into Hua's arms.

She had forgotten how much she had missed the housekeeper's warm hug, and her smell, of lemons and jasmine, and everything else that had made Hua so dear to her.

After a long embrace, Hua held Lan Chi at arm's length, and the younger woman could see tears in the housekeeper's eyes.

"Let me look at you! Oh, look at you! You're so _grown _up now! As tall as me." Hua put her hands over her mouth in delight.

"Oh, Hua! I've missed you so much - so much that I cannot tell you! Ming wrote you, didn't she?"

"Yes, of course she did! And I wanted to meet you here and take you home myself."

Lan's eyes widened. "Home? We're staying at Uncle Iroh's? In the palace?"

"Of course! It's _your_ home, after all. I know that General Iroh would want that."

Ming finally made it down the gangplank and joined them. She embraced Hua.

"Yes. Is that all right with you, Lan?" Ming gave her niece a concerned look.

_So close to Ozai_?

Lan hoped her smile was encouraging. "Of course, Aunt Ming!" She turned to the housekeeper. "You must tell me everything, Hua! Everything! How is Jianyu?" Jianyu was Iroh's faithful butler, and he and Hua had struck up something beyond friendship.

Hua blushed, and her hands went to cheeks suddenly red. "My lady, we were married last year."

A look of genuine joy came over Lan. "Oh, Hua! How wonderful! How unspeakably, incredibly _wonderful_!" She gave the housekeeper another hug, followed by Ming, who also offered her felicitations.

"It has been – lovely." Hua admitted.

"Oh, I can't wait to see him." Lan jumped up and down like a child. "Oh, there's Changda!" She pointed at her maid as she disembarked. "Where ever is Uncle Fai? I want to go see Jianyu!"

"He'll be here in a moment, I'm sure, Lan. He was going to see to the luggage."

Changda came up to them through the throngs of arriving passengers.

"Oh, Changda! This is Hua, my Uncle Iroh's housekeeper. She practically raised me!"

Changda bobbed a curtsy. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, ma'am." Her face was cast down.

Hua smiled kindly. "Oh, Changda, you needn't curtsy! My lady wrote to me of you. I am so glad that she found someone who has taken such good care of her."

Changda smiled back uncertainly. "Thank you, Ma'am."

"Is Iroh's carriage here, Hua?" Ming looked around her.

"Yes, my lady. As soon as Judge Liang disembarks, we'll go."

"Oh, there he is!" Lan saw her uncle coming down the gangway, and Ming waved him over.

"Hua, how nice to see you." He smiled.

"And you, Sir." She bowed. "I have already arranged with the porters for them to bring the larger pieces of luggage to the palace."

Changda visibly paled, and her eyes opened wide. "P – palace?"

Lan turned to her. She had not thought how Changda would feel sleeping in the palace of the Fire Lord, the enemy of all her people, and she wondered at the wisdom at bringing the Earth Kingdom girl.

Lan put on a falsely jocular smile. "It's actually a separate wing. You won't even know you're in the palace." _Except seeing the massive tower rising out of the middle, blocking your view of the sky_.

Changda smiled weakly in response, and Lan patted her arm awkwardly.

Ming slid her arm through Lan's and Hua's and they, along with Fai, and Changda, walked the length of the port to a waiting carriage.

The trip to the palace seemed much shorter than it had in the past; possibly because Lan spent the entire journey looking out the window, drinking in the sights. The street where she climbed into Zuko's palanquin and he kissed her. The tree she slept in when she ran away from the Royal Fire Academy for Girls. The park where she and Iroh went riding so many times.

She sighed and closed her eyes. So many good memories, but they were always tempered with the knowledge that she had lost it all. Everything – her home, Iroh, Zuko...

They pulled up to Iroh's private entrance, the entrance that Ozai had built to prevent Lan Chi from walking through the palace and seeing Zuko, and Lan took a deep breath.

A palace guard opened the door and they all alighted onto the steps.

"Oh," Ming said as she looked around them, "I don't recall this entrance."

Lan gave a mirthless smile. "The Fire Lord built it especially for Uncle Iroh and me. That is the servants' entrance." She pointed at a second door. "Our door leads directly through to Uncle's quarters, without going through the palace itself."

"Kind of him." Ming murmured as Fai proffered his arm.

Another guard opened the entry door and they walked through it into the long, dark, empty hallway to Iroh's quarters. Lan Chi hung back as Hua opened the double doors into the courtyard, almost reluctant to see her old home again.

It looked just the same as it did the day she left, although the cherry tree was larger, and her swing was gone, probably rotted away and discarded, which left a hollowness in Lan Chi's stomach. It was the last contact she had with Lu Ten; the last time she had ever seen him he had pushed her on the swing and had promised to return healthy and unharmed.

She dragged her eyes from the lonely branch and followed the group to the front doors of Iroh's home, which Hua opened. She called out for Jianyu, who appeared with alacrity in the doorway to the kitchen. He exclaimed with delight over the visitors, and, although he merely gave Lan Chi a bow, she impulsively hugged him, and his arms slowly wrapped around her.

"My lady, it is our absolute pleasure to have you home again."

She smiled. "Thank you, Jianyu. I am so glad to be home."

And, at that moment, she meant it.

* * *

The house, like the courtyard, seemed much the same as it had when she left more than two years before, and her room, although bereft of any personal belongings, was familiar and comfortable.

Hua had taken Changda to the servant's quarters, which left Lan Chi alone in her own room, to wander around it, tentatively running her hands over the furniture and gazing out the window.

"Strange to be back?"

It was Ming, leaning against the door jamb.

"Oh, yes. Surreal, in fact. I had never thought to return."

"Didn't you want to?"

Lan gave a small smile. "Only with Uncle Iroh and Zuko. Never alone."

Ming came into the room. "Well, you're not alone. You have us."

"Yes. Yes, I do." Lan gave a slow smile.

"But it's not the same."

She shook her head. "No. It's not. And it's nothing about you –"

"I know."

"It's just that _everything _here is tied up with them. Every memory, every thought. It's as if this place doesn't exist in my mind without them."

"I know."

Lan took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. "And I don't know what to do without them here. Even though I lived here without Uncle, you know, when he went to Ba Sing Se, and even though I _barely_ saw Zuko during that time, I _knew_, I knew that he was here – in the palace, and that gave me a measure of – security, I suppose. And I don't know why it should have. We didn't love each other then. We were just children, and practically strangers, but, looking back, I think I felt a _certainty_ that, while he was here, I had someone who – was family. Who cared."

"And now it's just you."

"Yes. Now it's just me."

Ming put a comforting hand on her niece's shoulder, and Lan smiled.

"It does help that you are here, though, Aunt Ming."

"And I will always be here for you, if you need me."

"Thank you."

Changda came into the room just then with the announcement that their luggage was being carried up the stairs, and Ming hurried to her room to oversee the unpacking. She had not brought her own ladies' maid along, choosing to share Changda with Lan, although Hua had volunteered to help Changda with both women.

Changda directed the men where to put the trunks, and, then, after they left, she began unpacking. Lan sat on her bed, watching the maid.

"Are you sure I can't help, Changda?"

"No, my lady. I have everything under control." Changda's voice was crisp, and Lan fell to watching her again.

"So," Lan began, attempting to make conversation, "how do you like Royal Caldera City so far, Changda?"

The maid was silent for a long moment. "It is – prosperous, my lady."

Lan grasped onto that word. "Yes! It _is _prosperous! That is the very reason _why_ we wanted to spread the March of Civilization! So that the Earth Kingdom could become prosperous, too!"

Changda looked at Lan, and there was bitterness in her eyes. "We _were_ prosperous before the war, my lady. And now – now we are rubble."

Lan looked at Changda, whose posture was erect and whose demeanor was earnest, and Lan realized that the maid was right. Changda's family _had _been successful before the war. It was only when the Fire Nation attacked that her family, and many others like them, had fallen into ruin

She compared, in her head, Royal Caldera with all the cities of the Earth Kingdom. The Fire National, for the most part, seemed successful, but many of the Earth Kingdom nationals lived in poverty. Poverty brought by the March of Civilization.

"I know that it is – difficult for you to be here, Changda."

"Difficult? Why would you say that?" Changda tried to infuse her voice with lightness.

"Why would I say that? Because you are in the capital city of the country that has been decimating the Earth Kingdom for a hundred years."

"Funny that you should think that, my lady, you being _Fire Nation_ and all." The maid's voice held bitterness.

"It is because I have seen what has been done to your country that I _do_ say that – now."

Changda stopped her task and looked at her mistress. "It's just that I had not thought it would be so – well-off, my lady. There is nothing to indicate that there has been a war for that long. This city looks – unscathed. Whereas the Earth Kingdom..." she trailed off, then shrugged. "Is decimated, as you say, my lady. That's all."

"I know, Changda. I'm sorry."

"And here _I _am, in the _Fire Lord's _palace, the place where all of the plans for destruction and war and death are made, and I feel –" she stopped.

"Like a traitor?"

Changda looked at her. "Yes. Like a traitor. It's bad enough that I _work _for a Fire Nation family, but to come here, to see the men who may have ordered the attack that killed my uncles, to walk _amongst_ them, well," she turned back to the unpacking, "it's enough to make a peaceable woman feel war-like, too."

"I'm sorry."

Changda shook her head. "Don't be. It's my burden to bear. Not yours. It's not you betraying your people. It's me."

"But I should feel angry. I've seen it, too. I'm not _blind_ – either to what has happened in the war, or to the Fire Nation's faults."

This time, Changda put down the bundle of clothes she was holding, and turned back to Lan. "Faults? My lady, this _war _is the Fire Nation's _fault_. The deaths of all my people, of all of _your _people, both Water and Fire, are the fault of the Fire Nation. And here I am, in the belly of the beast, and I have to smile and pretend that all is well! And if you can't understand that – after everything that you have seen in the Earth Kingdom, then I don't know what will make you understand. Understand that this war is _wrong_; that the Fire Nation is wrong." She gave a terse nod. "Please excuse me, my lady. I – am not feeling entirely well. Must be aftereffects of the voyage. I – I will return to finish my task in a little while. I just need to lie down."

Lan Chi was horrified, both by Changda's despair, and by the truth in her words. "Yes. Go, Changda. Go rest. Don't worry about this."

"Thank you, my lady." She bowed, and was gone from the room.

Hua passed Changda in the hallway, and, although she smiled at the young woman, Changda did not smile back.

"Whatever is wrong with your maid?" Hua asked Lan when she entered her chamber.

Lan opened a drawer and moved a pile of clothes into it. "She's Earth Kingdom."

"Ah." She watched Lan for a long moment. "She'll get over it."

"Will she? I don't know. If I were forced to come to the capital of the country who had been killing my family for generations, I don't know if I could _get over it_."

"You do what you have to do to survive. Believe me, I know." She handed a rolled parchment to Lan Chi.

"What's this?" Lan took it with a frown.

"If I had to guess, I would say that it's a royal summons."

Lan drew in a deep breath, broke the royal seal, and unrolled the parchment.

Her face turned white. "You're right, Hua. Ozai wants to see me tomorrow."

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Well, we have finally caught up with the prologue, and Lan Chi has returned to Royal Caldera City at the behest of Ozai, where she fell in love with Zuko, and where she lost him. Let's see what the Fire Lord wants with her!


	20. Chapter 20

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN _NICKELODEON'S AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER_ OR ITS CHARACTERS.**

** I just think these clever disclaimers are getting difficult! ; )**

* * *

**Author's Note: **Happy Thanksgiving, all you Americans! And happy Thursday to the rest of the world! As a small holiday present, I present to you a BONUS chapter of _The Spirit Within: Part Two: Spirit Born _to enjoy after gorging on turkey and football, or in place of the gorging, if you like! Please, in return, give ME a holiday present, and review!

* * *

Zuko came to wakefulness little by little, as a repeated pain jabbed into his naked back.

"Ow. Stupid cat." He reached behind him and swatted at the animal, who had curled up on the prince while he was asleep on his stomach.

He had tried, since the kitten had arrived nearly a year before, to keep Taxiao out of his room, but _she_, as Zuko had discovered not long after he had found her, kept getting in somehow, and, eventually, Zuko had given up trying to keep her out, and had accepted her warmth in his bed.

The cat complained at the disturbance, but obediently moved off her owner, and onto his pillow.

"That isn't much better."

As if in response, Taxiao pressed herself against Zuko's face, purring loudly.

"How am I supposed to sleep?" He idly scratched the animal behind her ears, which elicited even more purring.

He turned over, away from her, and she reached out lazily with her claws, caught his queue, and began gnawing on it.

"I am _not _a chew toy." He complained, but did not extract his hair from her mouth.

He fell back into a light sleep, only to be jolted awake by a sudden jerk. He rolled to his knees as Taxiao mewed in distress and darted under his altar.

There was a long, loud scraping noise, and Zuko's blood ran cold. He jumped to his feet as the boat listed, and watched as all the room's furnishings slid towards him. He narrowly avoided the altar as it slid towards him, and his swords clattered off the wall. Taxiao screamed loudly as she attempted to keep herself from sliding into the wall, as well, her nails scratching at the metal floor. She fell onto Zuko's crumpled bed and skittered into the corner.

He scrambled over the furniture, now in a heap, and lunged for the door.

_This is bad_. _Very bad_.

He turned the wheel to open the door, and it swung open, hitting him directly in the face.

Stunned, Zuko lost his balance, and went sliding against the opposite wall. He lay there for a few long seconds, stupefied, and then, regaining his senses, clawed his way over his mattress, and, with a leap, grabbed onto the swinging door.

He pulled himself into the darkened hallway and, after calling forth a small flame in his hand, crawled his way along to the staircase leading to the bridge.

He allowed the fire to die, and, in the dark, climbed up the tilted staircase to the bridge.

Jee and the engineer were on the bridge before him, both in various states of undress, having obviously been roused from their beds. In the glow of the wall lights now tilting crazily, Zuko could see that the helmsman lay slumped against one wall, with one of the firebenders desperately trying to rouse him.

"What happened?" Zuko demanded.

Jee was holding onto the wheel, even though it was, essentially, angled above him. "We've run aground."

The ship had stopped tilting, luckily, and Zuko pulled himself over to the window. He could see the horizon inclined crazily above him, the stars twinkling serenely in the sky. "We seem to have stabilized."

More of the crew were arriving, and Zuko turned to them.

"Chong! Go down to the hold and check to see if the hull was breached. Pang! Go down to the stables and make certain that the animals are well. Take Ling with you! Guo! Find my uncle and bring him up here! Jee!" He called the lieutenant's attention to him as the others made to do his bidding. "Have you ever run aground before?"

"Once."

"What should we do first?"

"Get the cutter off and take soundings around the hull – provided the hull has not been breached."

"And if the hull has been breached?"

Jee's face was grim. "Try to pump it out and repair it."

"And if we can't?"

"Abandon ship."

"Damn it." He allowed himself to slide towards the helmsman, pushed the engineer and the firebender aside, and shook the unconscious man. "Wake up, you stupid man! Tell us what happened!"

Jee was beside him. "We may need to remove some of the heavier things on board."

"Like what? The rhinos? What are we supposed to do? Throw them overboard and wish them good luck?"

"Hopefully it will not come to that."

"Arrgh!" Flames appeared in Zuko's fists for a moment before he extinguished them.

"Prince Zuko! What happened?" It was Iroh, who, with Guo's help, had made it to the bridge.

Zuko gave him a brief look. "We ran aground. Are you injured?"

"No, I am well. What will we do next?" There was an unusual tone of concern in the general's voice.

"Launch the cutter and take soundings to measure the depth of the water." Zuko's voice was grim.

The rest of the crew had assembled, and stood huddled in the doorway.

"Cho!" He pointed at the engineer. "Who's down in the engine room?" Zuko asked.

"I was, your highness."

"And you left?!"

"I don't want to drown in an engine room!"

Zuko gave a frustrated growl. "We're _all_ going to die if we can't get this ship into deeper water!"

There was a chorus of gasps, and Iroh stepped in. "The prince is simply using a figure of speech."

Zuko clawed his way back up to the window. "Can we reverse and get off whatever it is we're stuck on?"

"Not without potentially damaging the engines." Jee turned to the engineer. "You did shut the engines off?"

"Idle." The engineer corrected. "Otherwise all the lights would go off."

Zuko pointed at him again. "Get down there and get the cutter off this ship immediately, if it's at all possible!"

Cho and several of the others obeyed, and left the bridge. Zuko turned to his lieutenant. "If we don't find out soon if the hull is intact, we should start to abandon ship anyway."

"How did it happen?" Iroh asked.

Jee shook his head. "We don't know. The helmsman is out cold."

Zuko's mouth thinned. "I'll wake him up." He slid back to the helmsman, grabbed the waterskin off his belt, and squeezed the contents into the unconscious man's face.

He sat up, sputtering.

"Finally." Zuko grabbed the man's collar. "What happened? How did we run aground?"

The man looked around, dazed. "R – run aground?"

Zuko shook the man and indicated the upended bridge. "Look around!"

"I – I don't know what we hit. It's not on any of the maps."

"Arrgh." Zuko flung him aside. He pointed to one of the firebenders. "Get downstairs and find out if those idiots have found a hole in the hull."

"How far offshore are we?" Zuko demanded of the helmsman.

"Less than a quarter mile." The man confirmed.

"Is it possible it's a sandbar?" Jee asked.

"Sandbar is better than a reef." Iroh chimed in.

"There is neither on any map that we have, your highness." The helmsman was clearly upset.

"Your highness!" Chong, the seaman who had gone down to check the integrity of the superstructure, appeared in the doorway. "There is no water coming in anywhere, from what the men have told me."

"Thank the spirits." This came from helmsman. "It must be a sandbar."

"If it were a reef of some sort, there would be penetration." Jee reasoned.

"All right." Zuko gave a firm nod. "Let's get down and see if they've gotten the cutter out. Then we can get some soundings and hopefully get the ship free."

"Be careful, Prince Zuko." Iroh called after him as he and Jee left the bridge.

Luckily, all of the lights were still working, and they made their way down into the bowels of the ship, past the stables, where Pang, the stablehand, was busy wrestling the bleating rhinos back into their slanted stalls.

"Xuan?" Zuko stopped at the entrance. "Was he injured?"

Pang looked at him, harried. "No, highness. Fit as a fiddle." He indicated the far stall, where Xuan was perched on the bars.

A crooked smile lifted one side of Zuko's mouth. "Good bird."

"Your highness?"

"Right, Jee. Coming." He followed the lieutenant down to the boat launch to find that the ramp had been successfully lowered, although one side of it was invisible beneath the water level.

Cho and the midshipmen assigned to him were busy preparing the cutter to be put into the water, and Cho turned when Zuko called his name.

"Good news, your highness. The cutter is undamaged, and, even though we are leaning to the side a bit, it is not much of a problem to launch it."

"Good. Get it into the water as soon as you can. Jee, who do you need to help you sound?"

"One of the midshipmen, or I could use Cho." He turned to the man. "Is the sounding line in the boat?"

"Yes, Sir." Cho nodded.

"Your highness, we will have more success if we can sound it in the daylight, but we may be able to do it accurately at night. We need to get some signal lights at the fore and aft and at the top of the flagpole. Could you please make certain that is done? We don't want another ship hitting us."

"Yes. How long do you think it will take to get the depth?"

"Without light, two hours – at least. We could wait until daybreak, but I would rather know sooner than later how bad it is."

"I concur."

"As it is, I think we might have to wait for the tide, and hope we do not fall farther onto our side."

"Damn it. This is a mess." He clenched his jaw. "I am going to _kill_ the helmsman."

"You may have to stand in line, highness."

Zuko gave a grunt of annoyance and made his way back up to the bridge as Jee and Cho pushed off.

The ship, luckily, seemed to have settled in its final position, not listing farther either direction, and, although the ascent to the bridge from the back of the ship was difficult, Zuko finally made it. Iroh was, incredibly, sitting on a pile of rope that he had fashioned into a seat at the juncture of the wall and floor. The helmsman was sitting beside him with a cold compress against his head.

Zuko's face reddened when he saw him. "You buffle-headed moron! You could have killed us all!"

"The hull is not breached, Prince Zuko, you need not –" Iroh began.

"Don't tell what I _need not_ do, Uncle! You!" He pointed at the helmsman. "What in spirits' name were you doing when you _ran aground_?"

The helmsman was very pale, whether from his injury or fear of Zuko, it was difficult to tell. "I – I was at the wheel, your highness. I was following our course – I swear it."

"Are you certain it wasn't the blasted _cook_ at the wheel?!" Zuko demanded.

The other man's eyes widened. "N – no, your highness, no. I – I was alone."

"And you did not fall asleep?"

"N – no, highness. I swear that I did not!"

"You better _hope and pray_ that we get this ship back into deeper water without any damage or assistance. I'll have your _hide_ otherwise!"

"Zuko, calm down." Iroh's voice was soothing. "It is said that there are only three kinds of captains: those who have run aground, those who will run aground, and those that have, but won't admit it."

Zuko turned on his uncle, his fists blazing. "_I'm the captain_!"

Iroh blushed. "Oh, yes. So you are. Hee, hee, sorry about that, Nephew. Never mind what I said."

Zuko gave him a frustrated growl. "Where is the rest of the crew?"

"I sent them off to check the integrity of our stores of food and water, and I sent a few down to the engine room to man pumps, if necessary." Iroh smiled.

Zuko was mollified. "Th – thank you, Uncle. I need to get lights on the fore and aft, and up on the flagpole."

"Ah, yes, I had that done, as well. I hope you don't mind the presumption, Zuko."

Zuko blinked. "No. Not at all."

"I also sent someone to check on the trebuchet. I know it is secured, but I wanted to make certain that fuel is not leaking from the barrels."

"Y – yes. Good idea, Uncle."

"Thank you, Nephew. I also had the men set an anchor immediately. So that, when the tide comes, we will not drift farther aground."

Zuko looked around, at a loss. "I guess I'll – go back to the cutter launch and see if Jee needs – help."

"Yes, Zuko. That is a good idea."

Zuko slipped and slid and climbed his way back to belowdeck aft, where he could see, out the rear, the cutter finishing the sounding.

As the smaller boat was pulled back in, Jee jumped out. "The water is relatively shallow at the front of the boat, which is to be expected."

"What did we hit?"

"It looks like a sandbar. I've sailed these waters before, highness, and I do not recall any sandbar hereabouts. It's a possibility that it is a result of a storm – I don't think it is on any maps."

"If that is the case, we shall have to mark it, and send information back to Caldera so that they can indicate it on the naval maps."

"They may already know."

Zuko gave him a strange look. "Are you saying that we do not have the most updated maps? I was assured, when we left the capital, that they were."

Jee's eyes slid to Cho's. "I am certain that you're right, highness. We shall mark the sandbar and send the coordinates to Royal Caldera."

"Yes, that would be best."

Jee bowed, and Zuko continued. "We do not appear to be shifting to either side."

Jee nodded. "That's good and bad. We are obviously taking little damage on the ship, but it may mean we are so deeply wedged that we are being fully supported by the bottom."

"Which will mean it will be harder to extract ourselves."

"Either way, we will have to wait for the tide, and hope that it floats us off. That is less stressful on the hull. I see that we have set out the anchor in the direction of the wind for when the tide does come in."

"That will prevent us from carrying us farther up onto the bar, I wager."

"Yes. We will have to reduce the weight we are carrying, though, if we want to give ourselves the best chance of floating off."

"How far out of port are we?"

"Less than two days, I think."

"Let's drain as much water as possible from all the tanks, and we will refill in port."

"Yes, your highness."

"See if we can put some of the supplies in the cutter and launch it until we can get loose."

"Yes, Sir." Jee nodded.

"Can we use the cutter to pull us off the bar?"

"Perhaps. I was thinking of that. We might also get the cutter to pull both anchors out farther into deep water, then kedge off that."

"You mean dropping the anchors in deep water and then using the capstan to wind up the chains..." Zuko trailed off, uncertain.

"Yes. We set out the anchors far out, and wind their chains, and that pulls us off the shoal."

"It's worth a try, I suppose." He sighed. "What I wouldn't give for a strong waterbender about now."

Jee smiled – a rare smile from the usually serious man. "Not much chance of that, I'm afraid."

"No." Zuko agreed. "Let's do that, then, Jee, and hope for the best."

"Yes, your highness."

With their plan set, Zuko began investigating the ship, to see the damage for himself. It was remarkably minimal. Almost everything was already secured, and the biggest mess appeared to be in the kitchen, where the cook was already gathering up spilt vegetable and fruits, and cleaning up spills.

"Bring Taxiao here, your highness. We lost a small cask of sardines she may be interested in."

Leave it to the cook to make use of every scrap of food onboard.

"I don't need to bring her. She'll find her way." The air was heavy with the smell of fish. "I will have to rescue her from my cabin, though. You keep her with you after that."

"Yes, highness. I still have a lot of work to do, so we will stay here." He looked around him. "Thank the spirits the lights are still on."

Zuko nodded, and made his way back to his cabin. From down the hallway, he could hear a plaintive meowing.

Bracing himself on the door jamb, Zuko looked into the room. Taxiao, tired of being stuck at the bottom of the room, had clawed her way up one of the Fire Nation tapestry banners, and was presently stuck there, at the ceiling, but far from the door. Zuko reached through, grabbed the edge of the tapestry, and pulled it over, Taxiao complaining throughout.

"Quiet, you silly animal," he said affectionately, and grabbed hold of the animal by the scruff. She howled in indignation and started swinging, trying to release herself. Zuko set her down carefully on the tilted wall of the corridor, and she shot off down the hall.

Zuko returned to the bridge, where Jee, Iroh, and the helmsman were busy marking a map with the soundings that Jee had taken, using the slanted wall as a table.

Iroh smiled when he saw his nephew. "Ah, Prince Zuko! It appears that the sandbar is _not_ on any of the maps of the area."

Embarrassed by the anger that he displayed earlier towards the helmsman, Zuko blushed. "So Jee tells me. Get all the soundings you can, Jee. I want an accurate map of this area when we are done."

"Yes, your highness."

"Have the anchors been set in deep water?"

"That is being done now. We are also draining the tanks. There will be enough water for drinking, of course, but nothing else until we get to port."

"Fine. Have we loaded heavy items onto the cutter?"

"No, highness. I fear that weighing the cutter down will hamper its ability to pull us clear."

"Yes. You're probably right. How much longer until high tide?"

"About four more hours."

"So this will put us how far behind schedule?" Zuko asked.

Jee and the helmsman exchanged looks. "Probably a day, your highness."

Zuko's jaw set, and he left the bridge, and Iroh, concerned, followed him, although, with the angle of the ship, he was forced to call out to Zuko to wait.

The prince turned to him, impatient. "What is it, Uncle?"

"It is only a temporary setback, Zuko. And, after all, this schedule that you have set is not based on any pressing time table."

"It is set on a time table of _me wanting to get back home_!"

"Yes, I understand, of course, Zuko, but we are lucky to emerge from this incident with relatively little damage."

"Lucky? You call _running aground __**lucky**_? _Lucky _would be finding the avatar. _Lucky _is _not_ crashing a ship into a sandbar. Besides," he said bitterly. "You know I'm not lucky."

"Prince Zuko, we are _alive_, and we are well, and we will right the ship and be on our way soon."

Zuko gave a heavy sigh. "What does it matter? I'll never find the avatar anyway." He stomped away and disappeared into the tilted stairwell.

His uncle gave Zuko's departing figure a look of disgust. "Not with that attitude."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Oh, poor Zuko! Does anything go right for the dear boy? At least they did not have to abandon ship!

I also just noticed something as I was uploading - this chapter is all one big scene! No cuts or time lapses! Weird. I think that may be a first for any of my chapters (except maybe the fight between Lan and Mai in _Part One_).

Please, if you liked the chapter, review! : )


	21. Chapter 21

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN _NICKELODEON'S AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER_ OR ITS CHARACTERS. I just** **draw as well as Sokka!**

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**Author's Note**: Thank you to my wonderful beta readers, sunflower13 and bowow0708, as well as to everyone who has taken their time to review. I really appreciate it!

* * *

Ming stepped back from her niece, and surveyed the younger woman with her hand on her chin. Lan stood in front of her aunt in one of her only red robes, chosen specifically for Lan to go before the Fire Lord. It had taken Ming Yi the better part of an hour, going through Lan Chi's closet, to decide on the red gown for her niece.

Ming twitched one of the sleeves at the cuff. "I think you'll do."

Lan gave a weak smile. "Thank you."

Ming turned to Changda. "Changda, be a dear, run to my chamber and get that ruby brooch in my jewelry box. I think it will look stunning on this robe."

Changda bobbed a bow and left the two women in Lan's room.

Ming raked her eyes over her niece. "No dagger?"

Lan looked crestfallen. "No." She had strapped the knife onto her leg earlier, but, upon second thought, had removed it.

"Good. There is no way you would be allowed into the Fire Lord's presence with a knife."

"I know. They'd think I was trying to kill him."

She looked askance at Lan. "Don't tell me you've never thought of it."

Lan's eyebrows raised. "Thought of it. I'd never do it, of course."

She patted her niece on the shoulder. "I know that." She smiled wistfully. "I wish I could go with you."

Lan grimaced at the thought of going alone. "Me, too."

Ming grasped her shoulders. "You'll be fine. Just keep your head about you."

Lan nodded. "I will."

"He's just a man."

"A man who could have me imprisoned or executed."

"Don't think of that."

"I'm trying not to."

"He wouldn't do that, anyway."

"I hope not."

Changda returned and pinned the brooch on her mistress.

Ming smiled. "There. Perfect."

"Thank you, Aunt Ming."

"Shall I walk with you to the throne room, even if they won't allow me in?"

"I'd like that. Thank you."

Ming had sent a request to Feng, the Fire Lord's secretary, earlier in the day, asking to be allowed to accompany Lan Chi, but she was summarily refused. Ming had wanted to protest, but both Lan and Fai convinced her that doing so might cause additional problems, so Ming was reluctantly letting her niece go on her own.

Fai, however, although adamant that Ming Yi should not interfere, did not want to allow his niece to walk into the Fire Lord's throne room unprepared so he had, the night before, contacted Zhushou, Iroh's undercover man in the palace, for any details that the man might be able to provide.

They had agreed to meet outside the palace, early the day that Lan was expected to see Ozai, at a nearby park.

Fai saw Zhushou seated on a bench and the judge walked over to the empty bench that was back-to-back, and sat down. He leaned back and slid his arm along the bench's back.

"Judge Liang?"

"Yes." Fai looked around to see if anyone was watching him.

"I am Zhushou. Pleased to make your acquaintance, as it were."

Fai smiled. "This is not much of an introduction, I'm afraid."

"No, it's not." Zhushou had a bag of crumbs, and he threw some for a small group of pigeonkeets nearby. "I am sorry for the clandestine nature of this encounter, but I cannot be seen with you. My position within the palace is secure, and I cannot jeopardize that."

"I understand. You are Prince Iroh's eyes and ears."

"I try to be."

"I know that he appreciates it. Have you any idea what the Fire Lord wants with my niece?"

Zhushou frowned, although Fai could not see it. "Precious little intelligence, I'm sorry to say. As you know, the Fire Lord has always – resented any he considers to be in his brother's favor."

"Hence his prejudice against Prince Zuko." Fai nodded.

"Yes, although it seems counterproductive to hold your own heir in contempt."

"In the royal family, contempt appears to be the norm rather than the exception. Pity."

"Yes, indeed. I am sorry that I am little help."

"I want only to make certain that the Fire Lord means her no harm."

"I do not believe so. After all, even the Fire Lord would find it difficult to imprison a fifteen year-old girl."

"Can you hazard a guess to his intentions, then, since you are no stranger to his machinations?"

Zhushou threw the last of the bread crumbs to the pigeonkeets. "Were I a betting man, I would say that the Fire Lord has arranged a marriage for her."

Fai sighed, and rubbed his forehead. He had thought the same. "That is what I feared."

"Is it so bad – that the Fire Lord has settled your niece?"

Fai gave a low bark of laughter. "Do you recall my niece?"

"Yes. Headstrong."

"Indubitably. Besides, there is only one man she would agree to marry, and, as I do not believe that Ozai shares that sentiment, I fear that _any_ marriage he arranges will not sit well with her."

"I do sympathize with her, then, because, you know, as well as I, that a marriage arranged by the Fire Lord cannot be set aside."

Fai closed his eyes, "I know."

* * *

"So remember to show him respect, but do not be _subservient_. I cannot think that he would appreciate a coward. And _do _remember not to turn your back on him as you leave. Oh, and it would not hurt to keep your eyes averted whilst you are in the throne room." Ming was rattling off all of the protocol that she could remember to help Lan Chi's audience with Ozai go smoothly, as the two women walked from Iroh's private quarters to the throne room.

Lan gave her an exasperated but affectionate look. "Aunt Ming, you forget I grew up here. Believe me, I know how to conduct myself with royalty."

"Yes, you're right. I'm sorry." Ming nervously wrung her hands.

"Don't fret so, Ming."

Ming consciously dropped her hands. "I can't seem to stop." She turned to look behind her. "Fai should have come with us, drat him! Imagine him setting up a meeting at the _very same time _as your audience!"

"That _is_ why he came here. Besides, what can he do? He would not be allowed into the throne room, either, I'm sure."

"How can you be so calm?" Ming demanded as Lan Chi handed the summons to the guard who stood at the door to the palace proper.

"Do I have a choice? It would do no good to panic." They were allowed through the door and into the hall that ran past the throne room, and Lan Chi stopped to take a deep breath, thinking that panicking was not such a bad idea, after all.

Past Fire Lords frowned down at her from their places on the wall, as if chastising her for intruding.

She could almost hear their voices. _Interloper_! _Impure_! _Fraud_! _Presumptuous_!

She took another deep breath, trying to remember her training. Trying to recall Jiao Ao's words all those years ago – his words that told her to be calm, to present confidence and bravery to an enemy. His voice telling her to keep her head clear – clear enough to react when attacked.

They came to the entrance to the throne room, and Lan's stomach dropped. She remembered being dragged here ignominiously after Ozai had discovered her in Zuko's bed, forced to listen to him denigrate her mother, forced to listen to him call her a grasping, conniving whore, forced to hold her tongue and allow his vitriolic words to assail her, and then forced to _thank _him for his benevolence in sending her to the Royal Fire Academy for Girls. Even now, she could not believe that she hadn't choked on those words.

"Lady Lan Chi Sun and Lady Ming Yi Lian to see the Fire Lord." Ming said to one of the two guards confidently. "He is expecting us."

The man called forth a third guard, who consulted a sheath of papers, then looked up at Ming shrewdly. "Lady _Lan Chi Sun_ is expected, my lady. Your name is not on the list."

Ming gave a condescending smile. "Surely an oversight."

The man did not smile back. "Nevertheless, the Fire Lord will not see you, my lady. You are welcome to wait for Lady Lan Chi in the anteroom, of course."

Ming's smile was sour this time. "Thank you."

"Worth a try." Ming whispered into Lan's ear as the guard escorted them through the curtain and into the waiting room.

"Thank you." Lan grasped Ming's hand, and received a reassuring squeeze.

They sat on uncomfortable, straight-backed chairs there, waiting for Lan Chi to be summoned into the throne room, frequently exchanging worried looks.

"It will be well, Lan." Ming asserted, patting Lan's fists, clenched together in her lap.

Lan nodded grimly. She could face Ozai; she _would_ face Ozai, but the waiting was _killing_ her – which may have been the Fire Lord's intention.

After what seemed to be like an endless amount of time, a guard opened the doors from the throne room and bowed before Lan Chi.

"My lady, the Fire Lord will see you now."

Ming shot a look of concern at her niece, and stood when she stood.

"Respectful but resolute." Ming murmured for her ears only, and Lan Chi nodded before being escorted away. She turned as the doors closed behind her to see Ming's worried face, and, then, she was on her own.

The throne room was much as Lan Chi remembered it; imposing, dark, overly warm, but still chilling to the blood.

With guards on either side of her, she approached the throne, nearly obscured behind flames twice as tall as she. The sound of the roaring fire was the only noise in the room other than the sound of the footsteps down the main aisle, and the sound of her heartbeat in her own ears.

She could make out only the silhouette of the Fire Lord behind the flames, and, as the guards motioned her to stop, she dropped to her knees and lowered her forehead to the floor.

Ozai allowed her to remain so, prostrate and submissive, for a full minute before he spoke. He enjoyed seeing her obeisance – it sent a self-righteous thrill and a feeling of power through him.

He allowed the flames to die to half their original size, and spoke.

"Lady Lan Chi," he said, finally, "I had not thought that you would remember how to greet your Fire Lord."

_**You** are not **my **Fire Lord. **My** Fire Lord is exiled along with your son_, she thought.

Without thinking, she spoke. "I was well-raised."

"Obviously not well enough. You have not been given leave to speak."

She set her jaw.

"I had hoped that your years away would have taught you respect – and restraint."

She said nothing.

"Sit up so that I might see you."

She obeyed, and lifted her face to Ozai. She still could not see him.

"How old are you now?"

"Nearly sixteen, my lord." She wiped her suddenly sweaty hands on her robe.

"Ah, yes. Close in age to _darling_ Zuko. His birthday is next week, isn't it?"

She closed her eyes.

_Yes_. _His third birthday apart from me_.

"Speaking of _my son_," he sneered the words, "have you had communication with him since his _journey_ began?"

"No, my lord." That, she felt, was, at least, truthful. She was sure that the few words attributed to him by Iroh had not been his own at all.

"And my brother? Have you had no discourse with him?"

This she would not lie about. "Small gifts and felicitations for my birthday. Nothing more."

"No?" Ozai was surprised, and that surprise was apparent in his voice. "I confess astonishment. My brother _rarely_ follows directions."

She was silent.

"Of course, had you any further communication from my brother or son, I doubt that you would tell me the truth of it." He gave a small, evil smile. "My brother thought himself so artful, spiriting you away from the capital, taking you from my reach, didn't he?" When she did not answer, he continued. "Well, no matter. There are few places in the world free from my influence, as I am sure you have discovered, Lady Lan Chi."

She did not know what to make of his words, so she did not respond.

"You have been given a very great privilege, I understand, Lady Lan Chi. Not only have you been given the opportunity to live in the colonies, you have also assisted in the judicial process, bringing Fire Nation _justice_ to the savage Earth Kingdom."

So he knew of her work with Fai. Little surprise.

"So, tell me, Lady Lan Chi, what did you learn living in the colonies?"

She lifted her chin. "I learned that those of the Earth Kingdom are a brave and proud people."

"Is that what your uncle, Judge Liang, taught you?" His voice was like ice.

_Oh, no_!

She did not want to get Fai in trouble. He could lose his position. But she must not let Ozai scare her. He would hear her fear, if she was not careful, and exploit that.

"No, my lord. Uncle Fai taught me that Fire Nation law is just, and noble – and blind." She clenched her fingers into the material of her robe.

"Blind?"

"Yes, my lord. Justice is, or should be, served regardless of money or power, or country of origin."

"Noble, indeed."

She could tell that he was at a loss for words, and she gave a small smile.

"Your insight is – staggering, my lady. Tell me, since you are so perspicacious, why I brought you here."

When she was silent, it was his turn to smile. "Come, come, Lady Lan Chi, _surely_ you have some _theory_, some _idea_, as to why I summoned you."

She lowered her head, her cheeks red. She did not like his goading, and she did not trust herself to _not_ let the anger show on her face.

"No? Nothing?" His voice was falsely affable. He leaned to the side of the throne casually, and leaned his chin on one hand. "I am disappointed in you, Lady Lan Chi. You have always been so _clever_, so _shrewd_. Have I confounded you?"

She took a deep breath and raised her eyes to his again.

"It is to give you great news. Very great news, indeed."

She did not speak, but her heart jumped. Great news? What could it be?

"Ah, I see that I have piqued your interest. Have I, Lady Lan Chi?"

She nodded dumbly.

"Ah, good. You _should _be interested. It is, after all, about your future."

Her pulse began to pound. Her future? What could he mean? Was he letting her move back to the capital? If so, did she _want_ to return? Or perhaps it was about Zuko. Had he found the Avatar?

_Don't be stupid, Lan_!

"It has struck me, Lady Lan Chi, that, with your _legal_ guardian, my _brother_, gone from the Fire Nation, he can not _properly _look after you – and your future, of course."

Lan drew her brows together, confused.

"So I took it upon myself, as a benevolent leader, and, in the absence of my brother, to help him – and you. To that end, I have been thinking of your marriage."

A moment of pure hope washed over her, and she looked at him, unguarded happiness on her face.

"Ah, I can see by your visage that you thought that I meant Zuko." His tone was amused.

She looked at him, shocked.

"You thought I was unaware of your scheming, my dear, and of my son's _idiocy_? How little you know me! There is nothing," his friendly tone disappeared, "_nothing_ that goes on in my palace or in _my_ country that I do not know. I _know_, I have _known_, of the success of your tawdry ambitions – and of my son's absurd _desire_ for you. Did you think that I would not attempt to extricate him from your grasp? Did you think that I would _allow_ you to sit on the throne – the throne that my _mother_ sat on – that I would allow your _polluted _blood to mix with my own?"

She looked at him, eyes wide with horror. "I told you, once before, that I would _gladly_ see you dead before I would allow you to marry my son. Did you think that I would change my mind? Did you think that I would _not_ take steps to prevent it?"

She gasped at his revealing words.

"It seemed a little enough sacrifice, really. After all, it ended up killing _three _birds with one stone – you and Zuko separated, Zuko off to become a man, _and _my brother out of my hair. What more could I ask?"

She felt like she could not breathe, her throat closing painfully.

"And the knowledge that you are _partially_, at least, responsible for his banishment – for his _disfigurement –_ does that cause you a measure of guilt? That, had you given him up, he might still be here, still be _whole_?"

She wanted to fall to the side, to fall to her hands and cry. She felt like vomiting, and she saw the world swim for a moment before her inner strength reached deep within her and pulled her up. It wasn't true! He was just trying to torture her, to goad her into saying something or doing something that he could use against her.

But the thought that she had brought Zuko down – that she was the cause of his misery, his pain, was almost more than she could bear.

Still, she straightened, and looked directly at him, and did not flinch.

The cruel smile on his face wavered, to be replaced by a look of impotent rage.

"It was not easy, you know, to find a man willing to take you – with your background and your tainted parentage. I had to go far afield, as it were."

She remained silent, never removing her icy gaze from his face.

"Have you not a care to what I refer, Lady Lan Chi?"

"I'm certain you will tell me, _my lord._" She nearly spat his title.

Now his smile returned, cold and sinister. "Indeed I shall. I've found you a husband, Lady Lan Chi – one who doesn't care that your mother was a whore, or that you have followed in her footsteps. He has agreed to have you, sight unseen. Large dowries work miracles, it seems." He stood, doused the flames, and descended the stairs.

"Still," he re-ignited the flames behind him, throwing his features into darkness again, "I had to promise that you would sit for a miniature, at least, to send to him." He approached her, and, although she wanted to run, she composed herself and straightened proudly.

"Stand up and let me look at you, so that I may see what I have sold the poor man."

Although she wanted to throw herself at him and tear out his eyes, and beat at him with her fists, she instead acquiesced, albeit reluctantly. He surveyed her, stepping around her, and she regretted, at that moment, leaving her dagger behind.

He stopped in front of her, his hands behind his back. He examined her face, as if she were a particularly repugnant species of insect. He took her chin in his thumb and his forefinger and turned her face one way and then the other, and Lan Chi had to restrain herself from jerking from his grasp.

"You've grown into a beauty." He sounded surprised. "I would never have envisioned it. Perhaps I was too quick to bargain you away." He leaned towards her, and she got her first good view of him.

He looked much the same as he had before, although there were a few lines in his face that she had never noticed before. He was still very handsome, and she could, as she had feared, see in him a likeness with Zuko, in his eyes, in the way he pulled down his mouth, in the slight smile that now played around his lips.

"Now I understand what Zuko saw in you – your potential. You've certainly improved. Perhaps I should have kept you for myself." A lascivious smile came to his lips. "I have been unmarried too long – it _is_ time for me to find a new bride. Wouldn't it _kill _Zuko? If I took the woman he loved? If you greeted Zuko upon his return with a swollen belly? If _you_ gave Zuko a little brother instead of a son? A brother to take his place on the throne?"

He laughed, and chills ran down Lan Chi's spine. She unconsciously stepped back, and he laughed again, lowering his hand. "No, Lady Lan Chi, you are safe from me, as much as it would amuse me to cuckold my son. I cannot stomach the thought of joining myself to someone of a mixed, inferior race. It is – beneath me."

He returned to his throne and waved a hand at her. "That will be all, Lady Lan Chi. Go scurrying back to that termagant and tell her all your woes." He pointed at her. "But mark my words, you _will_ marry the man I have chosen for you, or it will be _the worse_ for you; I pledge it."

* * *

Lan walked numbly from the throne room to find her aunt waiting anxiously for her.

"Lan, thank goodness! I was getting _so _worried! Is all well?" The lines in her face was creased, although they smoothed out as she answered her own question. "Well, at least you weren't arrested – you weren't, were you?"

Lan's eyes were miserable. "No. I wasn't – arrested."

Ming frowned. "Then what is it?"

"He – has arranged a marriage for me."

Her aunt thought that she had misheard. "He what?"

"He says that he's found me a husband."

Ming flushed angrily, but, mindful of their surroundings, she grasped Lan Chi's elbow and propelled her from the anteroom and into the corridor beyond.

"He _cannot_ – he has _no _right! Only Iroh can do that!"

"Well, he _has_." Lan Chi said bitterly.

Ming sputtered impotently. "Well – well, we will just have to speak to Fai."

"What can Uncle Fai do?" Lan Chi was skeptical. She knew, better than most, that Ozai's resolve was virtually unshakable.

* * *

Fai could do nothing. He had confirmed Lan Chi's worst fear: the Fire Lord's word was law, and whatever Ozai decreed could not be challenged. Besides, there seemed to be no law that existed that prevented someone _other _than a girl's father or guardian from contracting a marriage – such a thing had never been a concern. It was, in fact, a problem so rare as to be non-existent.

Ming did not react well to the news.

"This is _unsupportable_! Fai, how can you _allow _this?"

Fai's brows lifted. "How can I _allow_ it? The better question, my dear, is how can I prevent it?"

"Well, then, how can you prevent it?" She crossed her arms.

He shot Lan Chi, sitting miserably on a chair in Iroh's sitting room, a sympathetic look. "I cannot, I'm afraid. I simply – cannot."

Ming threw up her hands. "You must! You must – protest, at the _very _least!"

At this, Lan suddenly snapped out of her dazed reverie, and stood. "No, Aunt Ming. He's right. He _can't _do anything, and I don't want him to say anything, either. His protests will fall upon deaf ears, and," she paused, gathering her words, "and I can't let him jeopardize his position. I won't."

Fai put his hands on her shoulders. "Don't worry about me. I _will _protest_._ I _must_ do – something. I can't stand idly by while Ozai bargains you away."

She smiled into his dear, kind face. "It's all right, Uncle Fai. I always knew that I was not meant for Zuko. I _knew_, deep down, that he would not be allowed to marry me. And now – it's a bit of a relief,Author's Note I suppose." She did not mean it, of course, but she was determined, in front of her aunt and uncle, who had done so much for her, to be brave. "At least we won't pine for each other for twenty years."

It was all too much for her, suddenly, and she ran from the room just as the tears began to come. She ran up the stairs, ran to her room, shut the door behind her, and locked it. She did not want anyone to see her despair – to sympathize, to comfort. She wanted to be left alone in her misery.

She slid down the door, put her head into her hands, and willed the tears to stop. She would _not _cry; she would not let Ozai defeat her. He might have destroyed her chances with Zuko, but he would not destroy _her –_ he would not destroy her spirit. She was too strong for that.

But she didn't _feel _strong. She felt – _broken_.

She put her hands between her knees and closed her eyes, drawing in deep breath after deep breath. She could not marry a stranger. She simply could _not_. She could not live her life tethered to a man she did not love, that she did not _know_. She could not _give_ herself to any man other than Zuko. She could not bear it.

And she would not. She would rather run away.


	22. Chapter 22

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN _NICKELODEON'S AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER_ OR ITS CHARACTERS. I just repair the costumes for the wind buffaloes in the traveling Fire Nation circus!**

* * *

"We cannot allow it, Fai. We simply _cannot_!" Ming Li paced back and forth in the bedroom that they shared in Iroh's house while her husband watched her with weary eyes.

"I know, dear. I _know_."

"You say that you _know_, but yet you _do _nothing."

"What would you _have_ me do? Shall I lead a rebellion against Ozai? Shall I challenge him to an agni kai?"

Ming's eyes grew round and she looked around fearfully, as if someone might be lurking in the shadows. "Hush! You must not say such _outrageous _things!"

"What you demand is outrageous!"

"How? How can my _asking_ you to help our niece avoid a loveless marriage be outrageous?"

"Because I can do nothing to help her! I cannot protest, I cannot even cite a _precedence_ – whether there be one or not! I cannot, because the Fire Lord will do as he pleases! What would you have _me_ do?!" He stood up, his hands fisted at his side, his face red.

Ming looked at him for a long while, and her face softened. She crossed the room and laid a hand on his arm. "I _am_ sorry. It is not right of me to tax you with this. We shall solve this problem together, you and I."

Fai patted her hand gently, knowing that there was no solution.

He did not, however, tell his wife that.

* * *

Lan Chi was not planning. She was not thinking of what she would do. She was not thinking of where she would go.

She had simply decided that she would run away once she returned to Lao Hai. She would gather as much money as she could, as many small, valuable items as she could carry, and she would leave.

She would leave behind all the life that she knew. She would leave behind every thing that she had ever had. Where she would go she did not know, but she knew that she must not wait to be shipped off to a husband the way that a prize ostrich horse might be sent off to breed.

So when Ming came to see her in her room that night before bedtime, she felt that she could honestly tell the older woman that she had no plan.

Ming smiled at her sympathetically. "You can confide in me, you know, Lan. I will not tell anyone. Not even Fai." When Lan did not answer, she continued. "I never told him about – the incident with Zhao. You can trust me."

Lan looked back at her sagely. "I know that I can, Aunt Ming. Believe me, I know that. But I _truly _have no plans to do anything or go anywhere."

Ming's eyes narrowed. "No plans to run away?"

Lan shook her head. It would be safer for Ming to be able to truthfully say, should the need arise, that she was not privy to her niece's plans.

"I have no plans for anything." It was true. She had an _idea_, but no plan.

Ming's look was concerned. "How do you feel about it?"

"About what?" Lan Chi was being deliberately obtuse.

"Do not pretend to be oblivious with me. I know you far too well."

Lan watched her for a long while, then sighed, casting her eyes down. "How should I feel?"

"You told Fai that you were relieved."

Lan's smile was bitter. "You say you know me well, Aunt Ming. Do you think that is how I feel?"

"Then why did you say it?"

Lan Chi looked at Ming as if she were simple. "Because I don't wish to cause Uncle Fai any problems." When it appeared that Ming was about to protest, Lan held up her hand. "Do not say anything. I know what you _will_ say: that I am not causing Fai any problems, and that it is his duty to fight for me."

"It is. Of course it is." Ming asserted.

Lan shook her head. "Whether it is or not, I won't allow him to sacrifice his position, all that he has worked his adult life for, for a lost cause. Ozai will _not _change his mind, Aunt Ming. I _know_ him – at least well enough to know _that_. So I'll – marry the man he has chosen for me." The lie stuck in her throat.

"And what of Zuko?" Ming hated to ask her that, but she thought that Lan should make a rational, informed decision, and Ming felt that Lan could not make that decision if she did not take her own feelings for Zuko into account.

Lan looked down at her hands, which she had unconsciously clasped tightly together in her lap. "What can I say to that, Aunt Ming? Do you want me to say that I would give anything to find Zuko and run away with him, and marry him? I would. _Will _I? No. Zuko is a part of a my past, and it is _past_ time that I face that. Past time that I understand that we have no future together. The sooner that I do, after all, the sooner that I can get on with my life, and he with his." She looked at her aunt for a moment. "Although I'm certain that he has. He has _certainly_ made no effort to get in touch with me."

"Oh, Lan." Ming lifted a hand to her niece's hair, and stroked it back affectionately. "I am so sorry. I told you that I would never force you to marry, and, here I am, by dint of saying nothing to Ozai, doing just that." She gave a frustrated sigh. "I am so, so sorry."

Lan smiled weakly. "It's not your fault. It's the Fire Lord's. All of it."

Ming returned a like smile. "But that doesn't mean that I don't feel bad."

"I know, Aunt Ming. I know."

* * *

That night, just as Lan was climbing out of the tub set up in her room, the heavens opened up. She watched as the rain poured from the sky and dripped from the eaves outside her open window. She could smell the metallic tang of the storm, and she drew deeply of the scent, and it calmed her, somehow.

She had sent Changda off to bed earlier, wanting to be left alone, and now, as she rubbed herself dry with a towel and donned her nightgown, she reflected on her audience with Ozai, as she had a dozen times already. She began to towel off her hair and walked to the window. Raindrops bounced off the stones of the courtyard and slid off the roof in great sheets. Torches on the walls underneath the protective overhang flickered and danced in the wind, and a few were extinguished.

A great jagged spear of lightning sliced the sky, followed almost instantly by a deafening clap of thunder. The brightness of the electricity illuminated the entire courtyard, and she thought she saw, almost like a ghost, the silhouette of a man looking up at her. She knew his figure without a doubt, taller than he had been the last time they spoke, but unmistakably him.

She dropped her towel and gripped the sill. With the lightning spent, the courtyard was thrown back into shadows.

"Zuko," she breathed. Was he here? Was he _really_ here? Was that him?

She ran from her room, heedless that she was only in a thin nightgown, and took the stairs three at a time, desperate to reach him, to see him, to touch him. Her heart thudded almost painfully in her chest as she ran through the kitchen and threw open the door to the courtyard.

She rushed out into the rain and looked around desperately. Where was he? She ran across the courtyard to where she had seen him, but it was empty

"Zuko!" She screamed into the thundering storm. She looked around wildly and screamed his name again, although, in the storm, her words were lost. The water soaked her, and her hair, already wet, plastered to her head.

Where could he have gone? She searched the entire courtyard and tried the doors that led to the palace, but they were both still locked. He might have climbed the wall, as he had when they were young, and she tried to do the same, but the slickness of the stones and the wet nightgown hampered her, and she gave up, her knees skinned and her nails broken from the attempt.

She staggered into the middle of the courtyard, tears starting to mingle unnoticed with the rain on her face. He was not there. He had not been there. She had imagined him.

She screamed in frustration and agony, and sank to her knees, not caring that the dirt of the courtyard now soiled her nightgown. She fell forward onto her hands, sobbing his name. The edges of the bricks cut into her palms, and she sank down onto her side, and cried as she had not cried since Iroh and Zuko had left, more than two years before.

She lay in the rain, sobbing, for she did not know how long, until she felt a tentative hand on her shoulder. Hua stood above her, an umbrella trying to shield them both.

"Come, my lady. Come inside."

Lan allowed the older woman to help her up, and she leaned heavily against Hua as the housekeeper led her inside.

* * *

Lightning rent the sky, and its accompanying thunder caused the windows to rattle. Zuko was wrenched from sleep and bolted upright in his bed. Wind lashed at the ship, causing the raindrops to pummel the windows violently, but he just stared at them, dazed. He had been torn from a dream, but whether it had been the storm that woke him or the dream itself, he could not tell. He rubbed an unstable hand over the scarred side of his face and rose, displacing a fussy Taxiao. He walked to the small window set high up in his wall. Lightning illuminated the sky for a moment, followed by another crack of thunder.

The dream left him wobbly. It was one that he had had before – he stood in Uncle Iroh's courtyard, tossing pebbles at Lan's window. Then, from behind him, came his father, anger and contempt written on his face, as on the night of the Agni Kai.

"Weak. You are both weak. Impure." Ozai always said.

And then, as always, Zuko felt the heat of the fire strike his face, and he awoke, as always, sweaty and shaken.

This was the first time, however, in many months, that he had been plagued by the dream.

He had been trying to wipe memories of Lan from his psyche as much as possible – whenever his mind now wandered to her, he pushed those thoughts away. She was in his past, unattainable. Thinking of her brought only pain. Besides, he had to concentrate on his mission – finding the Avatar. He had to focus on his training. He must be unbeatable when he finally found the old man. The Avatar had had a hundred years to master the elements, and Zuko only stood a chance if he became among the best firebenders in the world. That was his purpose now. Not to moon over his lost love.

He turned away from the window. No more chance of sleep. Perhaps he would train for a while.

* * *

"She was lying in the courtyard, my lady," Hua confided as she poured Ming Yi's morning tea. "Soaked to the skin and crying her eyes out."

"Over Ozai's command, no doubt. But, still, crying. She hasn't cried over him in two years. Although she has had plenty of reason to do so." Ming lifted the cup to her lips.

Hua sat with familiarity, as only an old, valued family retainer might. "But it was not only that. Not only the crying. She kept saying that she had seen Prince Zuko."

Ming Yi's elegant brows arched upwards. "Seen Prince Zuko? How odd. Was she sleepwalking?"

Hua was slow in answering. "No, I don't think so."

"Hmm. Her mind was playing tricks on her."

"I assume so."

"Well, it makes no difference. Zuko is lost to her. And now she is to marry another, even though it pains me to allow it."

Hua sighed. "It all would have been so much better had the General ascended to the throne, as was proper."

Ming Yi shrugged. "But that was not to be. Azulon saw to that."

Hua looked skeptical. "Yes. It was seen to, all right."

Ming looked at Hua intently. "What ever do you mean, Hua?"

Just then, Lan entered the room, and Hua was spared answering.

There were dark circles under Lan's eyes, and she walked with the mien of someone utterly exhausted. The night before, after finding her collapsed in the courtyard, Hua had helped her mistress back into the tub, had scrubbed her hair, and had helped her into a clean sleeping gown. However, Lan had not slept until the sun shone into her window, and only then into a fitful, unsettling sleep.

Hua jumped up. "Good morning, my lady."

Lan pulled out a chair and slumped into it. "Good morning, Hua, Aunt Ming."

Ming shot Hua a look. "Good morning, my dear. Did you sleep well?"

"No." She laid her head down on the table

Hua returned Ming's look. "Do you want something to eat, my lady?"

"No."

Hua looked alarmed. Lan was usually much more talkative than this – monosyllabic answers were outside the norm for her.

"Is there something wrong, Lan?" Ming asked.

Finally, Lan sat up, her palms flat on the table and her eyes blazing.

"Wrong?" She asked incredulously. "Is there something wrong? Ozai has just sold me into marriage with a man I've never met, and you ask me if something is wrong?"

Ming seemed to consider her niece's words. "Well, there is that."

Lan picked up her hands and slammed them back down, causing the two older women to jump. "If I were a more violent person, I'd kill him – somehow!"

Ming looked at her dryly. "Yes, thank goodness you're so even-tempered."

"Except that you then would be tried for treason, and executed." Hua pointed out.

Lan gave her a seething look. "It would be worth it."

Hua stood with the empty teapot. "Don't say that. There is always hope for a better day."

Lan's shoulders slumped. "I doubt that, Hua."

Ming rubbed the back of her niece's hand comfortingly. "We'll think of something."

Lan sighed. "Don't say something you don't mean, Aunt Ming." She rose and left the room, and the two women left behind shared a concerned glance.

* * *

When Lan returned to her chamber, she found Changda making the bed. The maid stopped when her mistress came into the room and she looked at Lan Chi with startled, wide eyes. She bowed, and nervously went back to her task.

Lan frowned and watched as Changda made a very messy bed.

"Changda, what is _wrong_ with you?" Lan asked in irritation.

Changda dropped the pillow she was fluffing, and turned to her mistress. "Oh, I," she looked down at her feet. "N – nothing, my lady."

Lan was in no temper for prevarication. "Just tell me, please. I am not in the mood for you tiptoeing around like you are walking on eggshells."

Changda colored. "Oh, I am so – so _sorry_, my lady. I h – heard about – about what the Fire Lord has ordered you to do. And I am _so _sorry."

Lan Chi felt, if possible, even more depressed. That Changda would pity her was almost too much. That this young woman, who had so many problems of her own, who was facing a lifetime of servitude, whose entire family lived in poverty, thanks to Lan Chi's own family and nation, felt sorry for Lan, made the waterbender feel even more lost, even more hopeless.

"I – I," Lan Chi began, but then stopped, trying to regain her composure. "Thank you, Changda. I –" she broke off again, no words coming to her. "Thank you."

She turned, left the room, and ran down the stairs and out into the courtyard, where she sank down on the edge of the fountain. What was she going to do? Could she run away? Could she _really _do that? Knowing the dangers that she would face, alone, a woman, wandering around the Earth Kingdom? But how could she do anything else? How could she allow a stranger to _touch_ her, as Zuko had touched her? How could she deliver herself into a life that she did not know? With people she did not know – who had no connection to her other than a tenuous legal one imposed by the Fire Lord? And once she was bound to another man, how could she ever escape, if she wanted?

And what about children? She had never wanted any but Zuko's, but how could she prevent a child if she was bound to another man?

Her aunt came out to the courtyard, holding a parchment in her hand.

Lan turned to her with a desolate look. "What is it now? Am I to be auctioned off to the highest bidder? Or does the Fire Lord want me to scrub his floors before I go?"

Ming shook her head. "Nothing so dire, I am pleased to say. The Fire Lord wants you to sit for a miniature to send to your betrothed."

Lan gave a deep sigh. "He told me that yesterday. I suppose that I must. I wish that I could wear something hideous, and leave my hair unbrushed, and pose with my eyes crossed so that my _betrothed_ would change his mind and refuse to marry me."

"Perhaps he will take objection to the color of your hair."

Lan gave a small smile. "If only."

* * *

In the end, Lan Chi chose the ugliest robe that she could find – it belonged to Hua, and besides being _ancient_, it was the color of mud, and much too big. With her hair, Lan decided to pull it back severely into a low bun, with an unattractive and stern-looking part down the middle that screamed 'spinster school teacher.'

She sat for nearly three hours in the palace for the artist, who was a small, rotund man with artificially curly hair and soft, pale hands with pudgy, short fingers. She allowed herself to be twisted into unnatural poses in order to be shown "in the best light," according to the artist – her back arched off the chair upon which she sat, her neck twisted, her hands folded demurely in her lap, her chin forced up, so that, by the time the man considered himself satisfied, she felt like nothing more than twisted bread dough.

After being released from the painter's subjugation, she was starting for Iroh's quarters when a familiar voice hailed her.

"Well, hello, _Cousin_." It was Azula.

Lan stiffened. She had known that she was likely to see the princess at some point, but she had hoped to avoid the younger girl altogether.

Lan Chi turned to her, resentment in every line of her body. "What do you want, Azula?"

"_Princess_ Azula." She corrected, a reptilian smile on her face. "I understand felicitations are in order. My father has made a brilliant match for you. That just proves what a _marvelous_ incentive a large dowry can be."

Lan decided to turn the tables on Azula. "If that is the case, Princess Azula, your father should be able to find a husband – even for you. He is, after all, one of the richest men in the Fire Nation."

Azula's face slid into a dark look. "My father will never force me to marry."

Lan was not in the mood to placate Azula. She was, in fact, in the mood for a fight – even if it was with her dangerous cousin. "Don't fool yourself, Azula. Your father will marry you off when he wants a favor from someone, or just to be rid of you."

That rattled Azula. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Perhaps I don't. Or perhaps I _do_. Women are worth nothing to your father – or to most of the men in the Fire Nation. Believe me, I know. If you think, for even _one_ minute, that your father has even considered leaving you the throne, think again. It's Zuko – the _male_ heir. It's always been Zuko. Your father might have sent him away, he might even hate him right now, but there is no way that he is going to throw away a thousand years of tradition just to name you ruler. Your father will not allow himself to go down in history as the only Fire Lord to name a mere _female_ as his successor. So if that's what you think, forget it. It will never happen."

"Shut up!" Azula's face was red, and flames licked at her hands, in fists at her side.

Lan Chi should have seen the danger that she was in, but the sheer _satisfaction_ she felt at upsetting Azula got the better of her, and she continued. "You think that you're indispensable to him right now, don't you? That may be true, but there _will_ come a day when he decides you're worthless to him, and that it's Zuko that he wants, and he'll ship you off to some nobleman to marry. The most you will ever be, Azula, is _sister_ to the Fire Lord. You will never rule the Fire Nation. _Never_."

Lan wasn't even sure that she believed all that she said; perhaps Ozai _did _want to be remembered for naming a woman as Fire Lord, but one thing Lan _did_ believe was that she _liked _seeing uncertainty and misery on Azula's face, even if it was momentary and quickly replaced with rage.

"You don't know anything! My father loves me!"

"Like he _loves _Zuko? Like your _mother _loved you?"

"How _dare _you speak to me of her?" Azula was enraged, as Lan knew that she would be. Bringing up Ursa's name was almost guaranteed to elicit that reaction.

Lan did not know why she was goading Azula. She suspected that she was redirecting her anger at Ozai towards his daughter, but she, like Azula, was beyond reason at the moment.

"Why? What will you do, _Azula_?" Lan deliberately omitted her title. "Burn me, like your father did to Zuko? _Hit _me? I'd like to see you try. Because you'll regret it, I promise. I am _much_ better than you at hand-to-hand combat. Just ask Mai."

"Mai beat you."

"But _you _won't."

"Who do you think you're talking to, _Cousin_? _I _am the Fire Lord's daughter.. I could _kill_ you and no one would say a word."

"Normally, that might be true, but I'm guessing that your father made a little money from arranging my marriage. I'm _certain_ he's getting some sort of a _finder's fee_." When Azula's face showed shock, Lan smiled grimly. "I'm right, aren't I? That's why he wanted a miniature of me painted – that's why he's gone through this trouble. _He _gets something from the groom, doesn't he – and he wants my future _husband_ to be content with the deal!"

"And why shouldn't he make some money?" Azula's voice was prideful. "It wasn't _easy_ to find someone who would take you. Do you _think _that anyone wants you other than my _pathetic_ brother?"

Lan's face twisted in anger. "He's _not _pathetic."

"No more so than _you_. Did you _really _think that you would ever marry him? You never had a chance! And now you never will. Do you even _know_ who you're marrying?" At Lan's silence, she continued. "My father hasn't told you, has he?" Azula's smile was triumphant. "You should feel honored. Your groom is a _very _good friend of my father's. In fact," Azula circled Lan, who was frozen to the spot, "they were the _very_ best of friends when they went to the Royal Fire Academy together."

Lan's eyes widened in horror. The man she was supposed to marry had gone to school with Ozai? He was the same _age_ as Ozai?! The same age as Zuko's _father_?!

Azula leaned in, an evil smile on her face. "What an interesting little _tidbit_ of information that is! Instead of marrying Zuko, you're marrying someone old enough to be his _father_." The princess was so close now that Lan could see the pores on her face. "Oh, and here's another interesting little fact!" Azula's voice seemed to coil around Lan Chi. "Your _fiancé_ has _three _daughters from his first wife, spirits bless her soul! But what he _really _wants is a son. To carry on the family name, of course." She leaned in to whisper into Lan's ear. "And _you're _the lucky girl who is going to give him that heir." Azula stepped back, satisfied that her venomous words had done their job. "So I suppose you'll be very busy. Much too busy with your new husband to miss _Zuko_. He'll just be a distant – memory."

Lan Chi stared at Azula in stupefied silence as the princess smiled at her again, and walked away.

* * *

Ming Yi Liang had absolute faith in her husband. He had earned that trust over a lifetime, and she had, in the past, relied on him completely to right the wrongs, to smooth over the roughness, and to solve the problems that life had brought to them.

This time, however, she knew that his hands were tied. He could do nothing about Lan Chi's predicament. Fai could say nothing to the Fire Lord for fear of angering him, and for fear that Ozai would take away his position. Fai could not even rely on that which he had built his career on, the law, because, not only was Ozai, for all intents and purposes, above the law, there was, as Fai had discovered, no law that prevented someone from contracting a marriage for a minor female – it had simply never been a concern, and so no law had ever been written.

That was why Ming was going to take this matter into her own hands.

That was why she had contacted Zhushou, Iroh's secret agent, in the palace.

She had agreed to meet with him, much like, unbeknownst to her, Fai had met with him, clandestinely. Ming, however, was not meeting with Zhushou in a city park, but in the royal stables, where Ma Hu, Zhushou's best friend and companion, worked with the horses, and could provide them someplace safe from prying eyes.

Ming tried to dress inconspicuously, and, upon her arrival at the stables, picked her way gingerly among the stalls. A groom, who appeared to be in his mid-twenties, came up to her with a smile and a bow.

"My lady, you sent ahead for a mount, did you not?"

Ming looked at him with wide eyes. At a slight bob of the groom's head, she smiled and nodded slowly. "Ye – es. Yes, I did."

"Very good, my lady. Perhaps you would like to wait in the tack room until I have saddled an appropriate horse. There is tea within, and a proper stool for you to sit on."

"Thank you, young man." He escorted her into the tack room, where Zhushou waited.

Ma Hu left them alone, closing the door behind him.

Zhushou stood and bowed to Ming.

"Thank you for meeting with me." Ming took the seat that he offered, and gave a glance at the room. It was filled with horse paraphernalia, and smelled of hay.

"Not at all, my lady. May I offer you tea?" Ma Hu had been telling the truth. A tea pot sat on a barrel, with several cups.

"No thank you, not just now."

Zhushou nodded. "As you wish." He sat on a stool opposite her.

Ming wasted no time in getting to the root of her visit with Zhushou. "You have heard what the Fire Lord proposes for my niece."

"Yes." Iroh's agent nodded. "She is not taking it well."

"Better than I thought, actually, although I am a bit suspicious of that. What do you know of the man that Ozai affianced to her?"

"His name is Da Baichi. He is the governor of Tao Xing."

"Tao Xing? Where is that?"

"The northernmost colony in the eastern Earth Kingdom."

"As far from the Fire Nation as possible." Ming's eyes narrowed at Ozai's machinations.

"Quite."

"But he's a governor, you say? That's not so bad, I think."

"No. A personal friend of the Fire Lord's."

"Hmm. What do you know of him _personally_?"

"Ah, well." He picked up his own tea cup and took a sip before responding. "As to that, he has been – married before. Now widowed."

"Dear me. Tragic. How did the wife die? Not suspiciously, I hope."

"No, no, not at all. Childbed fever."

"Ah." Ming cast her eyes down for a moment. She was quite familiar of the ravages of that illness. She drew in a deep breath. "Did the child survive?"

"Yes. A girl."

"So Lan is to have a stepdaughter. That may be good for her."

Zhushou swallowed. "She will have _three_ stepdaughters, to be precise."

Ming's eyes bulged. "Three? How many children does this man _have_?"

"Just the three girls."

"So he wants a male heir." Ming surmised.

"Don't _all _men?" Zhushou commented dryly.

"Yes, I suppose they do. Lan will have a ready-made family, but she'll be expected to provide a boy. I do hope the man doesn't expect a child right away. My niece is only fifteen, after all. How old are his girls?"

"The oldest is twelve, I believe, the middle is –"

Ming nearly fell off the stool. "_Twelve_? _Twelve_? Only three years younger than Lan Chi? She is to be a mother to a girl who is twelve years old? How _old_ is the man she is to marry, Zhushou?"

Zhushou colored. "He is of an age with the Fire Lord, my lady. They were at school together."

Ming brought her hands up to her cheeks. "Oh, no." She stood and began pacing. "Oh, no, oh, no, oh, no. This is _not _good."

Zhushou watched as she walked back and forth, saying nothing.

She stopped and looked at Iroh's former secretary. "Have you sent word to Iroh?"

"This morning."

"And you told him of the age difference?"

"I told him the identity of Lady Lan Chi's intended, and I believe General Iroh knows the man."

"Well, then, I hope he can find a solution. Because I fear that my niece will not enter into this marriage willingly."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Well, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. You see that, as Ming predicted above, Lan Chi will not be led willingly to the altar. In fact, if Lan has her own way, she will not be at the altar at all!

You will see, in coming chapters, Lan's plan unfold, as well as the plans of others – it actually might be best in Lan collaborates, but she does things her own way, and on her own, as well!

Thanks go out to my wonderful betareaders, bowow0708, and sunflower13. I do not know what I would do without them!

If you enjoyed this chapter, or the fic as a whole, please review. And for those who are saying "when are Zuko and Lan Chi going to meet?," be patient! Soon, my pretties! Soon!


	23. Chapter 23

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN _NICKELODEON'S AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER_ OR ITS CHARACTERS. I just break curfew in the City of New Ozai!**

* * *

**Author's Pre-Chapter Notes**: Thanks, as always, to my betareaders, Bowow0708 and Sunflower13. They gave me some great help with the ending of this chapter. Thanks also to Animechick247, for her continued fabulous artwork of Lan and Zuko. You can find all her work on deviantart, under that name. Thanks also to those readers who review every chapter. I am humbled and thankful that you have devoted so much time to my fic. I have an ambition that The "Spirit Within" series will have among the most reviews of the Avatar fanfics - and, to those who are helping me accomplish that goal, I say THANK YOU!

* * *

"I don't want to talk about it, Aunt Ming."

It was something that the older woman had approached Lan about more than once since the day that they had learned the identity of Lan Chi's fiancé nearly two weeks before, and, as always, Lan was refusing to speak of it.

And now, only a few days before their scheduled departure from Royal Caldera City, Ming was trying to, again, talk some sense into Lan's head as the younger girl helped Changda pack her things.

"But, Lan Chi, _this _is important! " Ming stomped her foot like a child. "You aren't going to marry him, are you?"

Lan stopped folding a piece of clothing for a moment to respond. "Have I a choice? You've said it yourself – Uncle Fai has said it – and I _know_ it – the Fire Lord's will is _law_! I can't undo this wedding, even if I wanted to!"

Ming's eyes grew wide. "_Even if you wanted to_? Lan! You _want _this marriage?"

Lan blushed, embarrassed to have almost revealed her plans to her aunt. She could not let Ming learn of her intentions, so she came up with something that was not quite a lie. She looked briefly at Changda, who was watching her with wide eyes.

"No," Lan began, "I don't. Of course I don't. But I see no way – no _legal _way out of this, so, unless you have figured a way for me to avoid this marriage, I don't see how I can. And I must stop torturing myself about it. Nothing can be done, and the sooner that I accept that, the better." She had said those words so many times over the past week and a half that she herself was tired of hearing them.

Ming gave her niece a sorrowful look. She could see that Lan was putting a brave face on this, and she was heartbroken by it. She had pledged to allow the girl to marry at will, and now, not only was she breaking that promise, but she was going to lose Lan – only a few years after finding her.

Ming drew her lips down into a frown. There _must_ be something she could do about this. If only Iroh were here. He was the only one on Earth who could defy Ozai.

A plan came to Ming's brain then, and she smiled.

Lan saw her aunt's smile, and her own eyes narrowed. "Aunt Ming, why are you smiling?"

Ming quickly erased all signs of mirth from her face. "Smiling? Oh, that wasn't a smile. I have – gas. Very painful. Excuse me, my dear."

She was gone from the room with a swish of her robe, and headed down to the kitchen to see Hua.

"Hua, I need your help." She stopped in the middle of the kitchen, her hands on her hips. "I need some writing material. I am going to write a letter. And then I need you to arrange a meeting with Iroh's man. I have a task for him."

* * *

After the door had closed behind Ming, Lan turned to Changda, who was frozen in the middle of Lan's bedchamber, clutching one of her mistress's robes in her hands.

"Oh, my lady!" Changda looked at Lan with fearful eyes. "You almost gave it away!"

"Don't be silly. It was just a slip of the tongue. Aunt Ming knows nothing." She took the robe from Changda's nerveless fingers and smoothed it out. "But if you don't stop running around like a cat in a room full of rocking chairs, _then _she might figure it out."

Changda swallowed, and drew her shoulders. "I won't betray you, my lady, I promise."

Lan gave her a kind smile. "I know that you won't, Changda – at least not on purpose."

"No, my lady! I will not betray our plans _at all_! Even accidentally! I swear!"

Lan smiled. "I knew that I could count on you, Changda. You are the best of friends."

The maid smiled shyly. "Thank you, my lady." A thought came to her, and she clapped her hands. "Oh, I forgot to tell you. I know which of my uncles can get you to Ba Sing Se. It is Yindao. He was in the army when he was younger, and three of his sons still are."

"Perfect." Lan smiled with satisfaction. "And I'll be able to get you and your family enough money to start farming again."

"Oh, my lady! That will be wonderful. Thank you _so _much! My family will be _very_ grateful."

Lan impulsively threw her arms around Changda's shoulder. "I'm the one who's grateful, Changda. Really. You're saving me."

* * *

Iroh watched his nephew as he sat down at the dinner table. As usual, Zuko was silent other than a clipped greeting. Iroh watched as the young man's chopsticks stabbed into the fish placed between them, dropped the fish into his rice bowl, and lowered his head to eat.

Iroh sighed. He had received a letter from Zhushou, his agent in the capital, when the ship was last in port, awaiting repairs as a result of running aground.

Iroh and Zhushou had an arrangement, whereby Iroh, whenever he was in a Fire Nation colony, would go to the garrison, and ask for any messages in the name of Mushi Li, which was a code name that Iroh had concocted many years before. Any news that Zhushou thought important would end up in Iroh's hands that way. It was labor-intensive, since Zhushou would typically have to draft twenty or more coded letters all bearing the same news and send them around the world to pre-determined towns, but it was a scheme that had worked for the past two years.

Zhushou wrote of Lan Chi's betrothal, and, although Iroh could do nothing about it from a distance, he was concerned for his niece's well-being, both physical and emotional. Iroh knew nothing of her new fiancé other than the fact that the man was of an age with Ozai – he did not know if the man had a reputation for brutality towards women, whether he was pleasing to look upon, or even anything about the man's career. One thing he was certain about, however, was that his niece would _not_ acquiesce easily to the arrangement.

Another thing that Iroh was certain about was Zuko's reaction. Although Iroh could not predict how his nephew would behave _outwardly_, he could predict that Zuko would be heartbroken, and that he would hide it from the rest of the world. He would betray no disappointment or sorrow, but, inside, Iroh was sure, Zuko would be dying.

It was for this reason that Iroh considered not telling his nephew of the letter or the news. In fact, Zuko actually had _no_ idea at all that Iroh was in communication with the capital, and Iroh hoped to keep it that way – especially since all the news about Ozai that Iroh had received had shown that the Fire Lord neither lamented for reconsidered his only son's punishment. That, too, would break Zuko's heart, and since it was already so hard to draw the prince out, Iroh had kept his own counsel about anything that he learned. In fact, every time that Iroh thought that he had succeeded in breaking through Zuko's outer shell, the prince retreated as he had after he had discovered that the sandbar that had run them aground had indeed been on updated maps of the Fire Nation, having been added nearly five years before after a strong storm had formed it.

Upon discovering that, Zuko's face had shuttered, and he had withdrawn into himself for several days. Even after he had gotten over his disappointment that he had not, despite his beliefs, been given the "best" navigation tools, he had remained more quiet than usual.

Iroh's eyes slid to Zuko, and he served himself a large piece of fish. "I've had a letter today."

Zuko put his chopsticks down and looked at his uncle. "A letter. How on earth would you receive a letter?"

Iroh shrugged. "I have my ways."

Zuko looked at him suspiciously, but went back to eating.

"Don't you even want to know who the letter was from?"

"Was it from my father?"

"No."

"Then, no."

Iroh ignored his last statement. "It was from Ming Yi Liang."

"Who?"

"My sister-in-law." At Zuko's blank stare, he added more detail. "Lan Chi's aunt."

Zuko's hand stilled for a moment, but he quickly recovered.

"She sent news of Lan."

Zuko's heart leapt within his chest, but he remained outwardly composed. "She's well, I trust?"

"She is to be married."

That same heart sank. He put his chopsticks down again and lowered his head. "Married." His voice was hollow. "She's met someone, then." He felt something twist inside him.

"It's an arranged marriage."

Zuko's head snapped up. "Arranged? But Uncle, how did you arrange a marriage for her? _Why_ did you arrange a marriage for her?"

"_I_ didn't."

"Then who?"

It was Iroh's turn to look down. He hated to tell Zuko this – it would wound his nephew even further. "Your father."

All color drained from Zuko's face. "M – my father? But why?"

"I don't know, Zuko. I ceased understanding my brother years ago."

The young man stood up abruptly, his meal forgotten. "I – I have to go."

"Are you going to finish that?" He indicated Zuko's bowl.

Zuko looked distractedly at his uneaten food. "No. I – I'm not hungry." With that, he turned and fled the room.

It was a beautiful, calm night out on the open seas. The stars were sparkling in the heavens, twinkling benignly on the world below.

Zuko was miserable. He leaned on the railing and stared blankly into the black sea.

_Married_! Lan was getting married. And not to him. Despite all that had happened – despite being banished and stripped of his birthright and being forced to leave Lan behind, despite the fact that he had vowed to forget about her, he had always thought that, someday, they would be together. That _he_ would be the one to marry her. That they would make a life together. That they would have children together. But it was not to be. It was a hopeless wish. She was marrying someone else. She would have children, and they would not be his.

And her marriage was arranged by his own father! His father – who knew that Zuko loved Lan.

Zuko wiped away a nascent tear from his good eye. He would not cry! He would _not_! He was the Prince of the Fire Nation, heir to the greatest empire the world had ever known, and he _would not_ cry! She was just a _girl_ – nothing that mattered. All that mattered now was finding the Avatar and returning home and proving to his father that he was worthy of love. _She_ _loved you_, a voice whispered inside his head, but he ignored it.

The _only_ thing that mattered to Zuko was finding the Avatar and returning to his life. No woman could deter him from that mission. Not even one he had loved since he was five.

* * *

Lan was awakened very early by Ming and Fai on the morning of their departure from Royal Caldera City. Her aunt and uncle stood around her bed mournfully, still in their night clothes .

Lan sat up in terror, a thousand tragic ideas in her head. "What is it? What's happened?"

It was Ming who spoke. "The Fire Lord wants to see you."

Lan's eyes widened. "He – wants to see me? So early?" The sun was only now peeking over the horizon. "What does he want?"

"I don't know." Fai supplied the answer. "I can't imagine, really."

Lan threw the covers back and climbed from her bed. "When am I to go? Will it interfere with our leaving?" She hoped not; she fervently wanted to be out of the capital.

"Guards are waiting for you now. If you are back by midday, all should be well with the sailing."

A terrible thought occurred to Lan; what if Ozai had uncovered her plan to run away? What if someone had dragged the details from Changda, and she was, even now, being tortured? Lan grabbed her uncle's forearm. "They haven't sent for Changda, have they? Please tell me she is here."

Her aunt and uncle gaped at her, but Ming answered. "Of course she is. She's in the kitchen eating her breakfast, and then she'll be up to help you dress."

Lan slumped in relief. "Thank goodness."

As if conjured, Changda appeared in the doorway, out of breath. She bowed to the occupants of the room. "I am so sorry that it took so long, my ladies. Sir."

Ming waved an airy hand. "Don't worry, Changda. Lan has barely risen." She turned to her niece. "But you need to be up and dressed within a half hour. Ozai does _not _like to be kept waiting."

* * *

Less than a half hour later, Lan was waiting in the throne room's antechamber, sitting alone on a chair against the wall. Ming Yi had wanted to come with her, but Lan had protested, and had, therefore, come alone. Ming could do nothing to protect her, should anything go wrong, and Lan did not want the older woman to incur any wrath that came from Ozai.

Lan did wonder, however, why she had been called there. Surely she had no other reason to see Ozai – he had already destroyed her life – what more could he do?

_A lot_, a voice inside her whispered.

After she had been there less than a quarter hour, two men came in, clerks by their dress and hats, and nervously stood by the door to the throne room, each with an armful of metal parchment scroll tubes.

"He will _not _be pleased, you buffoon." The taller man whispered to the shorter man, thinking, presumably, that Lan either had no ears, or had no desire to eavesdrop.

Both assumptions, of course, were wrong.

"Of course he won't be!" The shorter man hissed. "Do you think that I'm an _idiot_? But someone _has _to tell him."

"Well, it won't be _me_! I value my _neck_ too much!" The first man seemed furious.

"Well, _you're_ the one who decoded the message! If you think, for even _one _moment, that _I _am going to take the _blame_ –"

"The blame?" The taller man's face turned red. "_I _am not to blame. _I_ only copied the blasted message down! Is it _my _fault that _moron_, Shu, moved his _entire_ company that close to the Fifth Battalion?"

"It's not only _that_, and you know it! The entire eastern Earth Kingdom's forces are all over the map! The Fire Lord is going to have _our_ hides!"

"It's always _kill the messenger_! I know! I know!" He gave an aggrieved sigh. "I hate my job."

Just then, a royal guard came from the throne room and indicated that the two men should follow him, which they did on leaden legs.

Lan watched as the door was closed behind them. It seemed as if she would not be the only one to face Ozai's displeasure.

She continued to wait, idly swinging her feet and looking around at the furnishings.

Since she and Changda had come up with the plan that would allow Lan Chi to disappear into the Earth Kingdom with the help of the maid's family, Lan felt more at peace. She would live with Changda's extended family for a period of several years, and, hopefully, after the uproar had died down, she would be able to come back to Lao Hai to live, or at least visit. Her dowry would probably be forfeit, but she had enough jewelry to live off for several years, if she sold it all and lived frugally. For her part in the scheme, Lan was going to provide Changda with all the money that Lan could lay her hands on, which she estimated to be about 2,500 gold pieces. It was not a fortune, by any means, but it would be enough to get Changda's family farm running again, and it was more than Changda would make it ten years of working for Lan as a maid.

There was, suddenly, the sound of yelling from inside the throne room, followed by the audible _whoosh_ of flames, and the doors burst open.

The two clerks from earlier shot out, and both fell to the floor, dropping all of their scrolls, which went spilling across the room in every direction.

Ozai's secretary, Feng, followed close behind them, kicking them wherever he could land a foot. "Idiots! Dolts! How _dare_ you give the Fire Lord news like that? Don't you value your lives at _all_?" He continued berating them, kicking them both in their rears as they lay on the floor.

"Fools!" He pointed at the scrolls still rolling around the room. "Pick those up and _get your sorry selves _out of here! I'll _try_ to convince the Fire Lord _not _to order your executions!"

The men rushed to do his bidding, and Feng finally caught sight of Lan Chi, sitting wide-eyed and silent. He blinked at her several times, cleared his throat, smoothed down his robe, and straightened his hat.

"Ah, Lady Lan Chi. I do not believe the Fire Lord will be able to see you today." The clerks gathered up the last of the errant scrolls, and he shoved at one of them as they walked past him and out the door into the hallway.

He gave a haughty smile. "No matter. He wanted only for you to sign papers regarding your – dowry. I'll go fetch them and you can sign them here and be on your way."

Lan nodded silently and Feng, with a responding nod, went back into the throne room, leaving Lan alone.

Lan moved her foot. There was a forgotten scroll laying there, its filigree shining in the torchlight.

Without giving herself time to think, she reached down, snatched the scroll from the floor, and slid it into the front of her robe.

By the time Feng returned, she was staring off into space, as if nothing had happened.

He handed her a small lap desk and a brush in an inkwell, and spread a parchment in front of her. "Now sign here. And here." He removed the first parchment, once she had signed, to reveal another beneath. "And initial here, if you would, please." Lan did as he asked. She had no doubt that whatever she signed was something that would benefit Ozai in some way, but she knew that she could neither refuse, not could she demand that Fai be allowed to look it over first.

Feng's smile, as he removed the lap desk, was condescending. "I wish you happiness in your marriage, Lady Lan Chi." His voice, and the sentiment, were patently insincere.

She stood. "Thank you, Feng. I hope that you get what you _deserve_."

* * *

Back in her room, after making sure that the door was locked, Lan Chi extracted the scroll holder from her robe and pulled out the cork that sealed it.

She spread the parchment out on her bed. It appeared to be a report on troop movements and numbers in the eastern Earth Kingdom – perhaps the very message that the clerks were discussing.

She studied it for a moment, understanding some of it. It did appear, indeed, that General Shu had, against all common sense, brought his own troops close to another battalion, the fifth, leaving a large swath of the eastern Earth Kingdom unprotected from the enemy.

Lan allowed it to roll back up, and she stared at the coiled paper, wondering what to do with it. She could give it to Uncle Fai – she _should_ give it to Uncle Fai. He would know what to do with it. He would probably return it to the War Department – and those two clerks probably _would _be executed – for incompetence. She could return it to Feng, who might be able to smooth over the clerks' mistake, but he would wonder why _she _took it in the first place, and _that_ would be difficult to answer.

Perhaps she would keep it for the present.

* * *

Zuko smiled at Lan, and clasped her hand. She smiled back at him, her face shining with love. She wore a traditional Fire Nation wedding gown of red and gold and white, and Zuko, struck by her beauty, lifted his other hand to touch her cheek.

"Are you ready?" He asked her.

"Yes. I'm ready. I've been ready for a _very_ long time."

He pulled her to him for a quick kiss. "Then let the Fire Nation meet their new queen." He led her down a hallway until they were both running, although, when he reached the doorway that led outside, he stopped and turned to her. "No running. It's not good for you."

"I'm fine. I'm always fine." She drew a deep breath. "Let's go."

He drew her through the doorway onto the balcony overlooking the Royal Plaza. As they approached the edge, a thunderous roar went up from the crowds below.

Zuko pulled her against him gently. "See?" He whispered into her ear. "They love you as much as I do."

They turned to wave to their adoring public, but, even as the shouts of the people continued, the sea of scarlet-clad people began to melt together until they were just a pool of red.

Lan and Zuko stepped back in horror as the waving mass reared up and re-formed, into Ozai, who pointed a wavering finger at the couple. "Frauds. Impostors. You will never be accepted. Never!" Ozai leaned over them, blotting out the sun, growing, until he surrounded them, suffocating them.

Zuko held onto Lan Chi desperately, even as he felt the oxygen leave his body, even as he watched her eyes grow wide with terror. Her fingers gradually grew limp, and with his last breath, Zuko screamed her name.

He sat up with a gasp, and looked around him. He was in his cabin, and it was night. His puma cat lay nestled at the foot of his mattress, and Zuko could hear her purring. His heart was beating painfully fast, sweat dripping down his face. He reached up and wiped it away, and looked at his hand, expecting to see blood.

Nothing but sweat.

He gave a long sigh, and flopped down.

Another dream of Lan Chi – worse than the last.

Since Iroh had told him that Lan Chi was marrying, Zuko had been plagued by dreams of her. Sometimes it was just fleeting – an _impression_ of her, or a quick vignette, and she flitted in and out of his subconscious. Sometimes, it was long and torturous, and she was torn from him in some unbearable way. Infrequently, it was slow and sweet, and she teased his body exquisitely.

He always woke, though, with an unsettled feeling of something _incomplete_, and he was left aching for her or fearful for her, and it always took him a very long time to fall asleep again.

* * *

Lan Chi again concealed the scroll in her robe when she left the capital later that day, and, once she was aboard the ship that would convey her home, she hid it within the small trunk that held the books that she had brought along.

Each night on the ship, as she lay in bed, her gaze would fall upon the trunk, and she wondered what she would do with the scroll. She knew that, since she had decided not to give it to Fai, she should destroy it, but something within her prevented her from doing that. Something made her think that she would _need_ the information, but she could not fathom how or why she would need it.

* * *

**Author's Note**: I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and, if you did, please review!


	24. Chapter 24

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN _NICKELODEON'S AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER_ OR ITS CHARACTERS**.** I just** **baked the cookies for Roku's wedding!**

* * *

**Author's Note_: _**Hello, faithful readers! I wanted to let you know that I missed posting last week - which some of you may have noticed...

Anyway, life interfered. We had to go out of town to visit a sick family member, and I didn't have the time or the mindset to do much writing. I ALSO have been preparing my first ORIGINAL novel, "Somewhere in the Night," for publication on Amazon and Barnes & Noble (which I forgot to mention earlier when I originally posted the cause of the delay). I hope that, when it becomes available, you will consider downloading it onto your Kindle, Nook, smartphone, etc. I'm not sure if it will be available on iPads/iPhones. I will have to do some homework on that. Anyway, when it is available, I will let you all know.

Back to the actual delay; this was the first self-imposed deadline I've ever missed, but I have been writing A LOT lately, so I am ahead of the curve with a couple of chapters in reserve. So you can count on regular, weekly updates. You can also count on the same for my "Young Justice" fic, "Shatter Me."

Anyway, thanks so much for reading, and for being patient. Thanks also to my betareaders, bowow0708, and sunflower13.

* * *

Iroh re-read the letter from Ming Yi with a long sigh. What an imbroglio his niece found herself in – and of no fault of her own!

Ming had written that she was worried about Lan – the young woman had experienced an episode in which she had hallucinated visions of Zuko, and Ming was worried about her niece's psychological state. Ming was also concerned because Lan had acquiesced very quickly to the idea of the marriage, and Ming was suspicious that her niece had something planned to avoid the union, such as running away, which, Ming wrote, Lan had done in the past.

Although, Ming wrote, she would do anything to help her niece, running away would be far too dangerous – Lan was ill-equipped to survive in the Earth Kingdom alone, and Ming felt that Lan would never be free from Fire Nation law, which, Ming knew, was severe towards women who tried to flee unwanted marriages.

Iroh folded the letter. My goodness, his brother had surely built an elaborate trap for Lan Chi! If she married Da Baichi, she would be lost to Zuko forever; if she ran from the marriage, she would be a fugitive, and lost to Zuko forever.

How neatly his brother had tied up all the details!

Iroh continued reading. It was Ming's opinion that Lan should go through with the marriage – _who knows_, she wrote, _Lan might even find happiness with the unknown Da Baichi_.

Ming, however, did not believe that she would be able to convince Lan Chi to give her fiancé a chance. The only one who could possibly talk sense into Lan, she reasoned, was Iroh himself.

Therefore, Ming proposed, it might be best if Iroh escorted Lan Chi to Tao Xing. It would only take a few months away from his duties with Zuko, Ming wrote, and, since she and Fai had already hired a private ship to convey Lan to her destination, it would be quite an easy thing to add Iroh to the passenger manifest.

The idea of escorting Lan Chi, Iroh thought, was quite an audacious one, and sure to anger Ozai. Iroh was already quite angry with his brother; it was _not_ Ozai's place to arrange a marriage for Lan Chi – _Iroh_ was her guardian, and the Fire Lord involving himself in Iroh's affairs was beyond _disrespectful_.

It was for that reason, and for Ming's reason, too, of course, that Iroh was not only considering the idea, but _contemplating_ it. He was, in fact, upon further reflection, _committed _to it.

However, he had some changes to make to the plan, and those changes required planning, communication, assistance, and cunning. Quite a lot of cunning.

* * *

Cunning was something that Lan Chi was cultivating. She had never seen herself as a manipulative or crafty person. Rather, she saw herself as a person with _goals_, and she was not averse to using whatever means at her disposal to accomplish those goals.

Her goal now was to avoid a loveless marriage. It was one that she had set the day that Azula told her of her fiancé's age. It was hard enough for Lan to contemplate marrying a stranger, but it was _unthinkable _to consider marrying an e_lderly _stranger – and anyone of Ozai's age, Lan Chi considered elderly.

She simply refused. However, she also refused to allow her aunt and uncle to become embroiled in the duplicity necessary to pull off the scheme that she had in mind, and she was determined to protect them. For that reason, she was keeping _everything _secret from them.

The voyage by ship back to Lao Hai was difficult for Lan Chi. She needed to mix just the right amount of resignation and resentment into her demeanor so that her aunt and uncle could not guess her intentions, but not so much that it seemed overly dramatic or suspiciously over the top.

For this reason, and because she had to plan her escape, Lan tried to avoid her aunt as much as possible. Unfortunately, her aunt, who, of course, was not privy to Lan Chi's machinations, was already mourning her niece's imminent departure for her unknown fiancé's home, and sought to spend as much as possible with the young woman, so that Lan Chi's day was divided into the following segments: breakfast with Ming Yi and Fai, followed by an excuse to return to her cabin alone; lunch with Ming Yi, followed by a flimsy reason to take a brisk walk around the deck with only Changda as companion; tea with Ming Yi, followed by an ardent desire to take a nap (completely fabricated); dinner with Ming Yi and Fai, followed by a headache and/or fatigue that forced Lan to retire early.

Ming Yi, being an intelligent and cunning woman herself, was rarely fooled by Lan Chi's alibis and excuses. She knew that there was something underhanded going on, and she had a fairly good idea what, but, every time that she approached Lan Chi about it, her niece protested her innocence vehemently, and Ming was left with a nagging feeling that things were spiraling somehow out of her control.

Once Lan and her party arrived in Lao Hai, she and a wary Ming began preparations for Lan's journey to Tao Xing. Luckily for all involved, Ming Yi loved nothing better than shopping, and, since Lan Chi needed an entire trousseau, most of the older woman's time became occupied with assembling it.

Still, that did not mean that, although Ming was placated with shopping, Lan Chi was _happily_ preparing her trousseau. After all, in her mind, she _knew_ that she would make no use of the seductive lingerie and silken robes, or of the household linens and decorative wares that Ming insisted upon buying.

Lan Chi was actually preparing, in secret, the things that she _knew _that she would need. She squirreled away all the jewelry she could lay her hands on, as well as small pieces of expensive pottery and other knick-knacks that could easily be changed into cash. Indeed, she began giving small pieces of that jewelry to Changda to sell, so that, by the time of their departure in two months' time, Lan estimated, they would have enough money to pay off Changda's family and finance not only Lan Chi's future upkeep, but also her journey to Ba Sing Se.

Ba Sing Se, Changda's willing uncle had counseled, was the safest place for a Fire Nation runaway bride; there she could blend in with the thousands of other refugees and live relatively undisturbed. Lan had agreed readily with his assessment – after all, the city was impenetrable enough that not even Iroh, the fearsome Dragon of the West, could breach its massive walls. She was safer there than anywhere else on Earth.

However, even with the sale of all the jewelry and knick-knacks that Lan had acquired, she had no more than one thousand gold pieces – enough to either live _very _frugally for the foreseeable future in Ba Sing Se, or enough to allow Changda's family to begin farming again, but not both.

"This isn't good, Changda," she said to the maid one evening as they sat on the floor in Lan Chi's locked bedroom, the pile of gold and silver pieces between them. "This isn't enough."

Changda looked at the wealth surrounding her, and bit her lip. It surely _seemed _like enough. "Can you get some jewelry from your aunt?"

Lan knew that Ming had many pieces of unworn jewelry, but she was loathe to steal anything from her. Should Ming discover the missing pieces, it could bring Lan's entire scheme toppling down. Besides, it was a violation of her aunt and uncle's generosity and hospitality, and Lan already felt horrible lying to them – she would not also be guilty of abusing their trust in such a way.

Lan shook her head. "No. We'll have to figure something else out."

"Do you have anything else that you might be able to sell?"

Lan shrugged. "No, not really. Some of my new clothes – but they'll probably bring nothing on the black market. A couple of copper pieces each."

Changda sighed. She could see all their plans collapsing – Lady Lan Chi stuck in a loveless marriage, and she stuck working in a Fire Nation household hundreds of miles from her family.

"There _must_ be something."

Lan frowned and closed her eyes, thinking. Did she have anything else of worth that could be sold? In her head, she began running through her belongings. Her jeweled hair combs – she might be able to get five copper pieces for the jade one that Iroh had given her for her birthday – and she could probably get one gold piece for the pai sho set, but she _really _didn't want to part with that. Although, _really_, what would she do with a pai sho set in Ba Sing Se? And spirits knew that she could not lug it with her on her journey.

She sighed. "I suppose we could sell the pai sho set."

Changda grimaced. "Who would buy that – with all due respect, my lady? I know of no one who has even heard of that game – let alone someone who would buy it."

Lan let out a deep breath. "You're right. But I don't know what else I have that is _worth _anything." She shook her head. "This was an impossible idea. Maybe I should just – give up and," she swallowed audibly, "marry him."

Changda's eyes widened. "Oh, no, my lady! You can't give up!"

Lan shook her head. "We have enough money to get your family's farm going again. Maybe you should just take it and go home and – and save yourself."

Changda shook her head. "No, my lady. If you are going to Tao Xing, you will not go alone. I will go with you."

Lan smiled sadly. "That's sweet of you, Changda, but you're _not _going with me."

"What? How can you say that? Of course I am! I won't let you face that on your own! I have already decided."

"And _I_ have already decided that you are staying here. You have your family here, and Li, as well."

"Li?" Changda squeaked, her face turning bright red.

Lan gave a knowing smile. "Yes. Li. You're familiar with him, I think? The coachman?" She had noticed Changda's interest in the young coachman – frequently riding on the top of the coach with him, and chatting with him when she thought no one was near.

"I – of course I'm _familiar_ with him." Changda's voice took on a measure of indignation.

"_Very_ familiar?"

Changda opened and closed her mouth several times, before her shoulders slumped and she sighed. "Yes. We've been – seeing one another – only when we're free, though, my lady! Never while we are on duty!"

Lan waved an airy hand. "Why would you think that I care if you're shirking your duties? Changda, we're _conspiring _to help me escape to Ba Sing Se! Why would I care if you're sneaking off to the stables for some stolen kisses?"

"My lady! I _never_! I would never!"

Lan rolled her eyes. "Then you're being foolish, Changda! You mustn't let Li get away. He's a wonderful catch!"

Changda cast her eyes to the floor for a moment, then smiled shyly at her mistress. "Do you really think so, my lady?"

"Yes! I know so!"

Changda's smile widened. "He _is_ wonderful, my lady! And _very_ good with horses! We have been talking about – perhaps – raising ostrich horses when the farm is running again."

Lan looked horrified. "You didn't tell him, did you? About the plan?"

Changda rushed to reassure her mistress. "No, my lady, of course not! I just told him that we might be able to start farming again, and he was thrilled! He doesn't want to be in service anymore, you see. Oh! Not that your aunt and uncle aren't wonderful employers! He never said anything against them! I promise, my lady! He has never been disloyal!"

Lan laughed. "I'm sure he hasn't, Changda. I, for one, can quite understand someone not wishing to be bound for lifetime to something not of their choosing."

Changda seemed relieved. "Oh, thank you, my lady." She seemed to remember, suddenly, the reason for this conversation, and her smile faded. "Buy I will _not_ allow you to travel to Tao Xing alone should you be forced to marry that horrible man, my lady."

Lan gave Changda an impromptu hug. "I haven't given up yet, Changda. Not at all. I still have a few cards up my sleeve."

* * *

"You seem upset, Prince Zuko."

Zuko ignored him, and Iroh watched as his nephew continued to go through his forms with inordinate ferocity. His movements were quick and cutting, his strikes on an invisible foe piercing. Iroh watched the younger man for a long while before speaking again.

"I would even say _agitated_."

Zuko stopped and looked at him, his fire dissipating in smoky wisps. Sweat ran down his naked torso. "Agitated? Why would I be agitated?" He turned around and sent a fireball shooting across the deck.

Iroh tucked his hands into his sleeves. "I don't know, Zuko. Perhaps _you _can tell me."

Zuko did a handstand. "I'm not, so I can't."

"You know, it is quite understandable that you would be upset by the news of Lan's marriage."

The younger man lost his balance, spilling to the ground. He jumped up quickly. "_I am not upset_!"

Iroh sighed. "Zuko, _you_ wanted to marry Lan not so long ago. Now that she is marrying someone else, it is natural that you would feel this way."

He turned away, his arms across his chest. "Who _your_ niece marries is of no concern to me. All that concerns me now is finding the Avatar."

_So single minded_, Iroh thought wistfully. Still, he fixed a smile to his face. "There are many areas of the world we have not yet searched, Zuko."

Zuko stiffened. "I am aware of that, Uncle. It is impossible to scour the entire globe in two years."

"True, true. However, there are Fire Nation colonies in the northeastern Earth Kingdom that we have not explored."

"Which colonies?"

Well, Tao Xing, for one. I traveled through there when I was a young man. It is quite rugged around the city. Many caves – several rivers – that empty into the sea."

He looked speculatively at Iroh. "We can go there, I guess."

"Excellent idea. And we can kill two birds with one stone, as well."

Zuko's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I have a favor to ask of you, Zuko."

Zuko was suspicious. "A favor? What sort of favor?"

"Tao Xing is the residence of Lan's fiancé. She has never been there, of course, and so I was hoping to escort her…"

Zuko cut him off. "No. Absolutely not!" He started to walk off, but his uncle followed him.

"We must explore Tao Xing anyway, Zuko." He put his hand on Zuko's forearm and stopped him. His nephew turned towards him, anger and some other emotion, less easily identified, blazing in his eyes. "Please, Zuko. This may be the last time that I ever see Lan Chi. I am not a young man anymore, after all."

His plea did not work on Zuko. "I cannot spare any time from searching for the Avatar. Especially to play nursemaid to _your_ niece."

"She is your family, too, Zuko, and family is the most important thing in the world – wouldn't you agree?" Zuko was quiet at that, and Iroh pressed on. "Besides, it should only take a few weeks to pick her up near her home and take her to Tao Xing."

"Now we have to _pick her up_, too?"

"She cannot fly to the ship. It's not as if she has access to a flying bison – or a dragon."

Zuko's lower lip stuck out petulantly. "Don't try to manipulate me, Uncle."

"I would never dream of doing that, Prince Zuko. It's only a few weeks. And you'll be able to search for the Avatar along the way."

Zuko drew in a deep breath, trying to steady himself. "I have already said _no_, and I mean _no_." He could not have Lan Chi on this ship – especially knowing that she now belonged to another.

Iroh 's very well-rehearsed crestfallen look came over his face. "B – but, Zuko, you do not love her anymore, do you?"

"What?! No! Of course not! I never _really_ loved her! It was just a childish crush!"

"Then it would not be – _awkward_ between the two of you, then?"

Zuko's face was indignant. "Awkward? Why would it be awkward? She means nothing to me!"

"Then there should be no impediment to her being on this ship."

Zuko desperately searched his mind for a reason to refuse his uncle. "We can't. She can't be aboard, remember? My father said so – explicitly."

Iroh waved airily. "That was when he thought that you were in love with her. But you are not, and you could not marry her now anyway, so that is a moot argument."

Zuko opened his mouth to speak, but closed it, and Iroh sensed victory. Finally, the younger man spoke.

"She has nowhere to sleep. Where shall we put her? In with the men?" _Or with me_, he thought, and his treacherous body responded to such a thought. "Or," he said scornfully, "would you like me to give up _my_ cabin to her?"

Iroh smiled. "That's very kind of you, Zuko, but no need. I've had the men turn the supply closet next to the library into a bath. She'll use the library as her cabin, and she'll have a private bath. She can't use the same facilities as the crew, after all."

Zuko's jaw dropped. "_What_? You turned my library into her cabin? When did you do that? _How_ did you do that?" He headed towards his library, his uncle following him.

"Well, heh, heh, _that _is a funny story." Iroh had paid the engineer and a few of the other men to convert the rooms while Zuko was otherwise occupied, but he did not necessarily want Zuko to know that.

Zuko held his hand up. "I don't think that I want to hear it."

Iroh was relieved.

Zuko threw open the door to his library and called forth a flame in his hand, which he threw at the torches on the wall. They illuminated a room about the same size as Zuko's, but with a large window along one wall, and a second doorway.

"Where are all my books?"

"In your office, of course. You never use the library anyway."

"I was going to!"

"It's much more convenient to have your books and papers in one place, surely."

Zuko gave him a dark look and entered the room, his footsteps echoing in the emptiness. He crossed over to the second door and peered within.

"_That_ is the bathroom." Iroh supplied helpfully. "We have not gotten a tub yet."

"A tub. A tub?" He turned to look at his uncle. "_I _don't even have a tub."

"Well, you're not a young woman. Young women like to soak in tubs, I believe."

At the thought of Lan, naked, soaking in a tub, Zuko colored.

Iroh ignored his nephew's discomfort. "I had thought to get her a claw-footed tub. Those are so attractive. A deep one, so she can splash around."

Zuko swallowed heavily. "You make it sound like she'll spend hours in it."

"Perhaps she will." At a sharp look from Zuko, he backpedaled. "That is, of course, if you _allow_ me to escort her. I would never think of doing anything against your wishes."

"No." Zuko said dryly. "Of course you wouldn't."

Iroh looked at his nephew hopefully. Zuko was silent for a long moment, then he burst forth. "_Fine_! We'll escort your _precious _niece to her _wedding_!" He sneered the words. "But she'd better keep quiet and _stay out of my way_!" With that, he stomped off.

_Not likely_, thought Iroh as his nephew huffed away. _Not likely at all_.

* * *

A letter arrived for Ming Yi not many weeks later – a letter that pleased her greatly.

She felt a bit _diabolical_ for setting this wheel in motion, but, at this point, she did not know what other choice she had. She would not see her niece condemned to an unhappy marriage with a man old enough to be her father. However, her hands were tied – she could not protest without bringing the wrath of the Fire Lord down upon her own head, and upon Fai's, as well.

She surely could not encourage her niece to run off – although that was probably in Lan's head, Ming knew such a thing was much,much too dangerous.

No, what Ming needed to do was bring someone else into the equation – someone who could not bear to see Lan Chi married to an old man.

The fact that the person she had in mind was the banished Prince of the Fire Nation did not concern her at all.

Ming Yi paused outside Lan Chi's bedchamber, and stood watching her niece as the young woman listlessly sorted through her jewelry box. Piles of clothing intended for trunks already being packed littered her bed. Ming leaned against the door jamb and watched her niece for a long while. Unhappiness was etched in the ramrod straightness of her spine, and Ming ached for her; Lan was as dear as a daughter to her, and she would do anything to make her happy and keep her safe – even threaten the line of succession.

Ming pushed off the wall and came to stand next to Lan. "I've had a letter from your Uncle Iroh."

Lan froze for a moment, then returned to sifting through the baubles in the small enameled box. "Have you?" Her voice was had an odd, high tightness to it.

"I wrote him about your betrothal."

Lan was silent.

"He was surprised by Ozai's actions."

Her voice was bitter. "I don't know why he should be surprised by anything his brother does."

She ignored Lan's words. "Iroh says that he is familiar with the colony you are traveling to. It seems he passed through there as a young man."

"How nice for him." She remarked dryly.

"He is also – _vaguely_ familiar with your fiancé. He remembers him from Ozai's time at the Royal Fire Academy."

Lan had stiffened. "Does he think that there is – anything that I can do to avoid the marriage?"

"No." Ming's voice and face were solemn.

Lan nodded. "There's my last chance, then."

"Last chance?"

"Of resolving this _amicably_."

Ming gave a short laugh. "There was never any chance of _resolving it amicably_, I'm afraid." She cleared a spot on the bed to sit. "What are you looking for?" She indicated the jewel box.

Lan jerked, then shook her head, and snapped the box shut. "Nothing. Just – looking."

"Hmm." Ming nodded, not believing her.

Lan put the box aside. "Did he – Uncle – mention Zuko? What _his_ reaction was?"

Ming shook her head, watching her niece closely. "No."

"Oh." Lan shrugged. "Well, it doesn't matter, anyway, really."

"Then why did you ask?"

Lan shrugged again. "Just curious."

"Oh." Ming nodded. She looked around at the clothes. "Why isn't Changda packing all of this?"

"She's – downstairs, I think."

Ming nodded, although that had not answered her question. "It's a good idea to get started packing now. Best not to wait until the last minute."

Lan looked at the clothes scattered about her. "No. I suppose not." Her eyes slid to her aunt. "Did Uncle Iroh say – anything else?"

Ming smiled. "Say? He didn't _say _anything. He _wrote_ something else."

Lan rolled her eyes. "Yes. That's what I meant. What did he _say_ – write?" She corrected herself.

Ming shrugged. "Oh, well. He thinks it might be a good idea if he escorts you to Tao Xing himself."

Lan looked at her aunt sharply. "He's _leaving_ Zuko to escort me?"

Ming shook her head. "No. Prince Zuko has agreed to give you passage on his boat. No, sorry, his _ship_. It's too big to be called a boat – or so I'm told."

Lan ignored the last portion of her aunt's speech, and her eyes grew wide. "Zu – Zuko is going to escort me?"

"No. _Iroh_ is escorting you. _Zuko_ is allowing you to travel on his ship to Tao Xing – although, apparently, the prince _refuses _to give up his search for the avatar _just _to escort you, so I'm afraid it might take longer than normal to reach Tao Xing. I suppose we should write to your fiancé and tell him that you may be slightly delayed," Ming glanced surreptitiously at Lan. "Although I probably _won't _tell him why. I hope that's not a problem to you."

Lan abruptly stood and grabbed a pile of clothes from the bed, her hands shaking. "No. No. Not at all."

* * *

**Author's Note: **So now you see how the old folks are scheming to save Lan Chi from a loveless marriage, and how Lan and Zuko will be reunited. However, that road may get a little bumpy...

Please, if you enjoyed the chapter, review! Thank you all so much!


	25. Chapter 25

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN _NICKELODEON'S AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER_ OR ITS CHARACTERS. I am just a member of the search and recovery team for Sokka's space sword. **

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**Author's Pre-Chapter Notes: **Thanks go out to bowow0708 and sunflower13 for their wonderful betareading skills. They make me a better author (as do all of your reviews). Thanks also to jrba95 for fanart. You can find it under deviantart under that name. Strangely enough, one of the drawings looks ALOT like my older brother's daughter, who is 19! Thanks also for all the reviews!

* * *

As soon as her aunt left, Lan Chi rang furiously and continuously for Changda until the maid arrived in her room, breathing heavily.

Her eyes were wide; she was convinced that Lan was calling her to tell her that their scheme had been discovered. "My lady! What is it?" She closed the door behind her. "Has someone found out about our plan?"

Lan shook her head, and, grabbing the maid's arm, dragged her farther into the room. "It's off. It's off. It's off. It's off. It's off. It's off. It's off." She repeated, shaking her head until the maid put a hand up to her own head.

Lan did not know how to explain what had just happened; she felt that she could not, at that moment, string enough coherent words together to explain it, so she found herself spouting gibberish until Changda took both her shoulders in her hands.

"My lady! Stop! You _must_ tell me what happened."

Lan silenced herself, and looked blankly at her friend for a moment. "It's off." She said again. "The plan. _Our _plan. We must cancel it."

Changda was horrified. "B – but, my lady. _Why_?"

Lan shook her head, wonder in her eyes. "Because – because my uncle is going to escort me to Tao Xing himself."

Apprehension washed over the older girl's face. "Oh, no! Judge Liang is going to escort you? That will make it almost impossible to escape!"

Lan shook her head again, slowly this time. "No. Not Uncle Fai – Uncle _Iroh_."

Changda's hands went up to her mouth. "The _Dragon of the West_?" She breathed in disbelief.

"Yes. And my _cousin_." She gripped Changda's hand painfully.

Changda looked confused. "Your cousin _Zuko_?"

Lan Chi nodded. "Yes." Her voice was breathless.

"The crown prince?"

Lan nodded again.

"The cousin you're in love with?" Changda felt like an idiot, asking such simple questions.

"Yes." Lan began to smile, and, when Changda did not respond in kind, Lan took her by the arms and shook her slightly. "Don't you understand? I'm going to _see _Zuko again! I'm going to be traveling on a _ship_ with him! I'm going to _see _him!"

"But, my lady...are you still going to have to marry that man?"

Lan looked confused. "I don't know. But – I don't care! I'm going to _see_ Zuko again! And my uncle! I'd marry a man a thousand years older than me if it meant that I could see Zuko again!"

Changda was horrified now. "B – but, my lady, what about our plan? You can't just _call it off_."

"But, don't you see? I have to! I can't leave now! Not when I'm so close to seeing him again! To _being _with him!"

Changda felt like she was talking to a crazy person. "But, my lady, just because you are able to _see _him doesn't mean that you'll be allowed to _marry _him."

Lan pulled a face. "I know that, Changda. I'm not – simple. But I _have _to see him – I have to _be _with him. This may be my last chance. And my uncle, too. I'll probably never see either one of them again!"

Changda saw everything spiraling out of control. "My lady, _no_. You can't think like that. You may be able to see him, but you'll still have to leave him, and be some other man's wife. You don't want that, do you?"

Lan frowned at her. "No. No, of course not."

"And, my lady," Changda felt it important to build upon her small success. "My uncle is here – in Lao Hai. He's here to take you to Ba Sing Se."

"He has? Oh, no, Changda! Send him away! I can't go with him now!"

"My lady! No! You must go!" There was fear in Changda's eyes.

Lan pulled back, her face miserable. "Why? Because I promised that I would give you money for your farm? Is that all you care about?"

Sadness came over Changda's face, and she shook her head as she spoke. "No, my lady. No. How could you think that? Do you believe me so _mercenary_?"

Lan's face fell. "No, Changda. Of course not. I'm sorry. But why are _you_ so anxious about my marriage?"

Changda's face twisted in grief. "Because my uncle told me something. Something that will change _everything_."

A chill came over Lan. "He told you something?"

"Yes, my lady. About the war."

Her eyes narrowed. "What about it?"

Changda shook her head again, her eyes wide. "I can't tell you."

Lan's face reddened. "You tell me that your uncle has confided something in you – something about the war – something that will change _everything_, but you will not tell me what it is?"

"I," she gulped, and looked around. "My lady, _if_ I tell you, will you promise not to tell anyone? Not your aunt, or your uncles, or even your cousin? Especially not your cousin!"

Her mistress looked at her with suspicion. "I – I don't know if I can promise that, Changda. If it's _that _important..."

Changda shook her head resolutely. "Then I cannot tell you."

"But how can you expect me to keep a secret that you say _will change everything_?"

"Because you must. Because I will not tell you otherwise."

Lan glowered at her, and was silent for a long moment. "Fine. I won't say anything."

"Swear by the spirits?" Changda prompted.

"Changda..." Lan was becoming frustrated.

"If you cannot..."

She gave an aggravated sigh. "I swear by the spirits."

Changda could tell that the younger girl was becoming impatient, and she held up her hands. "I trust you."

"Good. What is it?"

Changda looked around her again, as if expecting someone to spring at her from behind the drapes. "My lady, my uncle learned from my cousin, his son, of course, who is a colonel in the Earth Kingdom army, and who's stationed near Ba Sing Se –"

"For pity's sake, Changda! Get on with it!" Lan interrupted.

"Yes. Yes. All right. Anyway, my cousin told my uncle that _Ba Sing Se _is getting involved in the war."

Lan felt sick to her stomach. "Ba Sing Se?" She remembered her conversation with Corporal Sheng, the young man she had met in Daejeon Ju, so long ago – the young man who had called Ba Sing Se the "sleeping giant," and who said that, once that city began sending soldiers, the Fire Nation would be devoured by the _sheer _size of the Earth Kingdom forces.

"Yes, my lady. He says _a million soldiers_ will be joining the fight soon."

"A million." She hoped that she had heard wrong – but she was sure that she had not. A million soldiers – that was more, she was certain, than were in _all _the Fire Nation armed forces put together – perhaps more than in the entire Fire Nation.

She sank down on her bed. The Fire Nation was going to lose the war. This war that Lan had come to hate so much – the war that had cost _her _so much, that had cost Changda so much, that had cost Iroh so much, the war that had destroyed so much of the Earth Kingdom – it would end, perhaps soon. "Is your cousin a reliable source?"

"My uncle says that my cousin heard it from more than one person above him. A general, and a strategist for the army."

"When?" She looked up at Changda's concerned face. "When is Ba Sing Se entering the war?"

"By year's end, they say."

By year's end. By year's end, the colonies might be gone. Her fiancé might no longer be governor – he might no longer be alive! As an official of the Fire Nation, it was quite possible that he would be put on trial – perhaps put to death! But, if _he_ was put on trial, would other officials be put on trial, as well? Like Fai? Or Iroh? Or Zuko? Would they find themselves in jail? Convicted of crimes against humanity – that was what defeated enemies and combatants were charged with, wasn't it? Would they be – executed?

It was unthinkable. She couldn't let that happen! She couldn't let dear Fai be convicted for doing his job. He had never been dishonorable, and had never perverted the pursuit of justice in the Fire Nation's favor. He was honest, and fair, and balanced. And Iroh! Oh, Iroh! The Dragon of the West! How the Earth Kingdom would love to put him on trial – or perhaps put him to death without even the distinction of a trial. And Zuko! The Prince of the Fire Nation – what a coup that would be for the Earth Kingdom, to try the Fire Lord's son! To execute him!

She felt ill to her stomach, and she put a fisted hand to her abdomen.

She couldn't let such a thing happen to them!

_And what can you do, you stupid girl_? She asked herself. _How can you stop it_? _Would you like to fight everyone in Ba Sing Se_? _Would you like to carry away all of your relatives to somewhere safe that the Earth Kingdom can't reach – because you might as well wish for that – it's as impossible as anything else you've ever wished for_!

She sighed, because it was true. She couldn't save them. She was _nothing_. Just a pawn to the Fire Lord. Just an insignificant, part-time scribe. It's not as if she had anything to bargain with – anything that the Earth Kingdom wanted...

She stood suddenly as a terrible, wonderful thought came to her, and, despite her plan's embryonic development, she turned to Changda. "You're right. I – _we_ must go with your uncle. Right away. There's really no time to lose."

* * *

In the end, it was not hard for Lan Chi and her maid to sneak out of the house and steal away to journey to Changda's family farm, where the older girl's uncle had gone to await them.

It was merely a matter of waiting until Ming and Fai, and most of the servants, were asleep, sneaking out to the stables, and, thanks to the coachman, gaining entrance to the horses. However, rather than choosing her own, highly bred mare to ride, Lan chose a sturdy cart horse that could be depended upon to carry both her and Changda. She saddled it, and they were soon on their way.

Lan was concerned about leaving – she refused to call it "running away" – after all, she intended to come back, and she did not want to worry Ming and Fai. For this reason, she had insisted upon leaving a note for them, although Changda was uncertain whether such an idea was wise.

Still, Lan _had _left her aunt and uncle a note, and she hoped that it would placate them until she could return – and she also hoped that she could do what she must do to save her family.

* * *

The journey to Changda's home was completed overnight, and they arrived just as dawn was breaking.

Lan was not prepared for the sight of Changda's family home, expecting, somehow, a neat and prosperous farm like those in the Fire Nation, or like those in and around Lao Hai proper. Instead, she found a farmhouse decrepit with disrepair, barns and outbuildings half-burned or in rubble, and only a few fields growing crops in rock-choked, uneven earth.

A stout, muscular man hailed them from behind a plow, and he came running to see them. Changda slid from the horse, and went running towards the man, throwing her arms around him. Lan drew the ostrich-horse closer to them but did not dismount, unwilling to intrude.

Changda drew away from the man, finally, and, brought him over to meet Lan Chi.

"My lady, I would like to introduce you to my father, Xian Ren." She slipped her arm through his. "Papa, this is my lady, Lan Chi Sun. She has been very kind to me."

He looked at Lan suspiciously, but, finally, bowed. "My daughter has written me of you. Welcome to our home."

She bowed in return from the saddle. "I thank you for your hospitality, and also for the lending of your daughter. She has been a stalwart friend and companion."

Despite his gruffness, he smiled fondly at his daughter. "She is a jewel." He turned back to Lan, more disposed to be charitable to her now. "Please, come within, my lady."

Lan Chi dismounted, and Xian Ren took the reins of the horse. He led them to the farmhouse. "Changda, take my lady into the house and see your mother. She's been waiting for you since yesterday morning."

Changda bowed, a smile on her face. "Yes, Papa." She drew Lan Chi through the door, and called out for her mother.

Lan could hear clattering from what she assumed was the kitchen, and a thin woman, drawn, but tanned, appeared in a doorway. When she saw Changda, she threw up her arms and came rushing into the room with a squeal.

"Oh, Changda, my girl!" She attempted to envelop Changda in her arms, but the maid dwarfed her mother.

Changda cast a sheepish look at Lan Chi, who watched them with a wistful smile. "Mama, don't fuss so."

The woman's eyes slid to Lan Chi. "I'm sure your young lady doesn't mind." She continued looking at Lan Chi until Lan cleared her throat.

"No, ma'am, I don't. Of course."

Changda finally pulled away from her mother, and presented her to Lan Chi. "My lady, this is my mother, Yanjun De."

Changda's mother bowed, and Lan reciprocated. "Thank you, Ma'am, for inviting me into your home."

Yanjun De looked Lan over, then nodded tersely. "My daughter thinks highly of you."

Lan looked nervously at her maid, who grimaced back.

"L – Lady Lan Chi is really excited to meet Uncle Yindao. He's here, isn't he?"

"In the barn, with your brother. Go and fetch him. I'll make Lady Lan Chi comfortable."

Changda nodded, and was gone, leaving Lan standing awkwardly staring at her maid's mother. She finally looked around the room in which they stood. It was obviously the room in which the family did most of their living; there was a pile of mending by a shabby chair close to a window curtained by faded silken fabric, another chair, with well-worn upholstery, near a cold fireplace. A small table sat against one cracked wall, covered with old books, a spindly chair on either side.

"You want to – sit down?" Changda's mother indicated one of the wooden chairs, and Lan gave a small smile, pulled one of the chairs out, and sat, her hands clasped demurely on her lap.

Yanjun De nodded, and folded her arms across her chest. She opened her mouth to say something, and then shut it again abruptly. She drew in a deep breath, and looked at Lan Chi resolutely. "We don't want you here."

Lan paled, and stood. "Perhaps I should go – wait outside."

"I would prefer that you go altogether."

Lan nodded sadly. "Oh. Oh. I – see. I – I will, if that is your wish. I – I'm sorry. For everything." She understood why Changda's mother felt that way – after, Lan was the enemy.

Lan Chi started for the door, seeing all of her plans flush away.

"I'd prefer that, but Changda wouldn't, and she would not look kindly upon me throwing her friend out of my house."

Lan stopped, and pivoted to look at the woman.

Yanjun De continued. "You look at this farm, and you see a run-down _hovel_. It didn't used to be that way. It used to be prosperous – my husband's family could feed half of Lao Hai with the crops that they raised. But then –" she gazed into the distance, remembering, "then the Fire Nation came. Oh, they'd been in Lao Hai for a long while, of course, but they'd left us alone, and we continued on. Until one day when we _didn't_. The day they decided that we should give them all of our crops, and they'd _sell _it back to the people of Lao Hai."

"I'm so sorry," Lan began, sorrow on her face.

"I'm not done, though, so keep your apologies. The Fire Nation nearly destroyed us – although the Earth Kingdom army helped them out a bit, without meaning to. It took _years _for us to be able to plant crops again. I had to go to work in town as a lady's maid – I'm sure Changda told you that." Lan nodded, and Yanjun De did the same in response.

"It wasn't until this last year that I could come back to live here, back to my husband, and to my youngest son. All my other children – _all_ the others, are either off working, or in the army, fighting the people who not only ruined our lives, but pay our daughters' wages."

She paused, and looked at Lan Chi, and Lan felt compelled to speak. "I don't know what to say, Ma'am."

"There's nothing _to_ say. Not every silence needs to be filled, you know. You could just listen."

Lan Chi colored at the rebuke, but she nodded.

"Do you know why I was able to come back here, my lady?" Yanjun De squinted at Lan, who shook her head. "Because Changda has a good job, and sent all her wages home. _That's _why I was able to come home. My _own_ daughter has to sacrifice her youth so that we can keep our heads above water."

Lan felt a tear come to her eye, and she brushed it away.

"You can cry, my lady, but it isn't your sorrow. It's mine. Mine and my husband's. That each of our daughters works in the homes of the Fire Nation gentility, and send their hard-earned money home to help us. That's not the way it's supposed to work, you know. Parents are supposed to provide for their children; not the other way around."

"It _is_ my sorrow, though, Ma'am. Even though _I _am not responsible for your – predicament, my nation is, and I am _vastly _sorry for that."

"Begging your pardon, my lady, but _your _apologies do very little for me."

Lan was obediently silent.

"And now Changda writes and tells us that _you_ want to give us money to start farming again on a larger scale. In exchange for what, I am not entirely certain. First, it was to escape an unwanted marriage, and now – now, I don't know why you're doing it." She looked for a long time at Lan.

She continued. "For the money, if it's true, I thank you. But if you get our daughter killed, there won't be _anywhere_ on Earth that you can hide, my lady."

Lan paled, and unconsciously put a hand to her chest. "I won't."

Yanjun De smiled grimly. "So, tell me what it is you want us to do, exactly."

"I don't want _you _to do anything. I want your brother to take me to the Earth Kingdom army command."

Changda's mother gave a mirthless laugh. "Yindao? Take you to the army? What for? Are you thinking of surrendering? Or defecting?"

Lan Chi lifted her chin, for the first time comfortable with speaking. "Not _defecting_, exactly. More in the way of _treason_, I suppose."

Yanjun De's eyes opened wide. "Treason?"

Lan nodded. "You've lost quite a bit to this war, Ma'am, but you're not the only one."

The other woman's brow lifted. "Oh, yes? What did you lose? A hair comb?"

"My father and brother. Killed by the Earth Kingdom."

"While they were trying to kill Earth Kingdom soldiers, no doubt." She seemed unmoved.

"Oh, no doubt. But they did only as they were told. As did the Earth Kingdom soldiers, I'm sure. But I'm _tired_. I'm tired of losing people to this war. And I have several people that I care about. A family. Just like yours. And I'm trying to prevent that – losing them, I mean."

"You saving them might be a _lost_ cause."

"Because Ba Sing Se might enter the war?" Lan retorted.

"Who told you that?" Her tone was sharp.

"Changda."

Yanjun De fumed. "I wouldn't pay attention to her. She talks too much."

"Just enough, I'd say. If Ba Sing Se _does _enter the war, the Earth Kingdom will win."

"Does that upset you?"

"Yes, of course. It is still my nation. But I've seen too much of what my country has done – although the Earth Kingdom army helped them out a bit, without meaning to." She echoed the other woman's words. "And even though the Fire Nation has done some good – "

"Good? What could be good about what they've done to this country?"

"They helped build Lao Hai, and Yu Dao, and a dozen other cities. Brought _some _prosperity."

"At a price."

"Oh, I know that it was at a price. I don't dispute that. But that's neither here nor there. I won't debate you on the cost of the war. _If_ the war is to end, I would rather it be done quickly, and with my family safe."

"You still have not told me why you want to go the Earth Kingdom army command."

Lan smiled, although it did not reach her eyes. "And I shan't, Ma'am. _That_ is something I will take up with your brother."

* * *

A strangled cry came from Ming Yi's throat, and she put a hand on Lan's bedroom wall to support herself, while the other hand grasped the note Lan Chi had left for her. She finally found her voice, and called for her husband.

He came at a run, still in his morning dressing robe, with shaving lather on his face.

"Whatever is wrong,Ming?"

She turned to her husband, her face stricken, and shook the note at him. "She's run away, Fai! She's left a note!"

His face shuttered as he took the parchment from his wife. "Did you summon her maid?"

"No!" Ming threw her arms up. "Lan _took _the maid!" She pointed to the note as Fai began reading it. "She's said so!"

_Dear Aunt Ming and Uncle Fai,_

_By the time you read this, I will be far from here. Please do not worry; I know where I am going, and I am with Changda, who knows quite a bit about this land. Please do not be angry with her – I forced her to go, against her will, and she was quite reluctant to do so. Please do not think that, had she come to you with my plan, you would have been able to stop me. As you know, I am quite stubborn, and I would have found a way to leave with or without Changda, and I think it wiser to go with her._

_We have not gone to her farm, so do not look there. If you feel you must inform her parents of her disappearance, of course, I do not wish to stop you, but it may cause them undue worry._

_I know that you must think that I have run off to avoid my marriage, but I assure you that is not the case. I am resigned to the marriage, but there is something I must do before I leave for Tao Xing._

_Please do not look for me. You will not find me, anyway, and it will raise a terrible scandal! We shall be fine, and I hope to return by my birthday._

_With love, your disobedient niece,_

_Lan Chi_

_P.S. I know you will search for me, despite my pleas to the contrary. Thank you for caring about me enough to ignore my request._

Fai sighed as he reached the end of the note. "That – _girl_." He shook his head.

Ming looked at him expectantly. "_Well_?"

He looked at his wife. "_Well_ what?"

"_Well_, are you going to send someone to search for her?"

"You know that I will." He shook the note. "Even _she _knows that I will." He turned on his heel and left Lan Chi's bed chamber, Ming on his heels.

"Where do you think she has gone?" Ming asked her husband's back.

He stopped so quickly and turned to her that she ran into him. "You would know better than I. She _is _your niece, after all."

"Do you think she's safe?"

"I hope to spirits that she is."

"Do you think she'll really be back by her birthday?"

"How long is that?"

"Less than three weeks. Oh, that _dratted _girl! I was planning a party – she's only sixteen once, after all. And it will probably be –" Ming's voice broke, "our last birthday with her."

Fai patted her arm. "Of course it will not be, Ming. Just because she is married does not mean that you will cease to be a part of her life."

"Oh, Fai, you know what it is like. She will have her own life, her own family. I feel like I have lost her, and I only just found her!"

"You're being silly. You will go visit her, I am certain. She will not be able to keep you away!"

Ming shook her head sadly. "I feel that something _bad _will happen, Fai. That she will never get the opportunity to _be _settled – to be _happy_."

"Don't be ridiculous. She'll come home soon."

"Do you think she's well?"

"Of course. She's fine." He started off again, worried, calling for his man servant. "Chan! Send for the coachman."

"Li? _Our _coachman? Whyever for?"

Fai gave her a knowing look. "He knows these parts better than anyone else. _And_, I suspect that he knows Changda better than anyone else, as well."

Ming put a hand to her mouth. "_Really_? Changda and _Li_? Are you certain?"

"As certain as I can be. Now, let me get dressed, and we'll start the search for our _foolish_, _foolish _niece."

* * *

"It's madness! You know that, don't you?" Changda's uncle looked at Lan Chi sharply. "You're as likely to be imprisoned as anything else."

Lan, sitting before him in Changda's family's living room, quailed for a moment, although she did not show her fear. "That's why I am traveling with you, Sir."

Yindao blew through his closed lips, and shook his head. "I hope that your confidence in me is not misplaced, my lady." He rubbed his cheek with his one good hand, the other having been lost in the war.

That was the first thing that Lan Chi had noticed when they had met earlier in the day – he was missing his left arm from the elbow down, a relic of his time fighting the Fire Nation.

He was, for a man drastically affected by the war, remarkably jolly, and very different from his severe sister. Lan Chi, in fact, felt so buoyed by his merriness that she felt no compunction sharing her plan with him.

It was an audacious plan, to be certain, and almost certain to fail, in the most spectacular way possible, but Lan would not back down. She could not.

Changda and Lan exchanged glances as Yindao rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I suppose that I could take you to General Fong. His base is only two days' ride on an eel hound."

"Will you be able to get my lady in to see the General?"

Yindao nodded. "My brother-in-law is a colonel under his command – you remember him, Changda – Jong Wu."

The maid nodded, and Yindao went on. "We should be able to hire an eel hound about fifty miles up the coast. The army uses them, mainly, but there are _some_ for us ordinary folk, _if _you know who to ask, and, of course, _if_ you have enough money."

"Oh, I have enough," Lan smiled. "Enough to hire an eel hound and bribe anyone that I need to."

Yindao looked at her keenly. "This is very important to you, isn't it?"

Lan nodded firmly. "The most important thing in my life. Perhaps the most important thing that I have ever done."

* * *

**Author's Notes: ** Well, we are finally getting into the meat and potatoes of the story - in other words, to the important part! I hope that you enjoyed it. Sorry that I have left you on a cliff. We have a few more chapters left before Lan and Zuko meet one another - darn it! I was REALLY trying to reunite them BEFORE chapter 30! Well, that's still my goal. Hopefully the next part of the story, in which Lan sets up her audacious plan, will move quickly.

Thank you so much for reading, and PLEASE review!


	26. Chapter 26

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN _NICKELODEON'S AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER_ OR ITS CHARACTERS. I just sell soft and juicy fruit at the market in Yon Rha's town.  
**

* * *

"Changda, _do _sit down. You're making me even _more _nervous."

The maid looked distractedly at Lan Chi, who sat by a window in a sitting room in General Fong's fort. The base itself was beautiful, and, had Lan been there for any reason _other _than the one for which she was there now, she would have appreciated it.

A circular fortress built from a creamy stone, it looked, from a distance, alabaster-white. Nestled in the mountains of the southern Earth Kingdom, a natural ridge brought a road to its front entrance, and man-made walls extended, perpendicularly, for miles from its other sides. It was remarkably secure, and easily defended, and had stood against the Fire Nation for over one hundred years.

Gaining entrance had not been as hard as Lan Chi would have imagined. Yiandao, true to his word, had called upon his brother-in-law, who had, upon hearing part of Lan Chi's plan, agreed to bring her offer to General Fong.

It was General Fong's response that they were awaiting, and Lan Chi, although outwardly composed, was quaking inside. All that she had planned, all that she had risked – it all hinged on the Earth Kingdom general's reaction.

"I'm sorry, my lady. I don't mean to upset you." Changda lowered herself to a cushion.

Lan shushed her maid, and looked around. "_Changda_! Please! Do _not _use my title!"

"I'm sorry – Lan. I just can't get used to calling you anything other than," her voice dropped to a whisper, "_my lady_."

Lan gave a sympathetic nod. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped. It's just that..." she trailed off. She was nearly _desperate _to speak to the general – to see if her scheme would be accepted.

"Yes, my – _Lan_. I know."

Her mistress smiled at her. "I feel like I can't _breathe_ deeply until I know what the general thinks."

They had been at the base for three days, after a particularly speedy and _terrifying _ride on an eel hound. After being settled in the civilians' quarters at the fort, they had been left to wait, and wait, and _wait_ for Fong's decision.

Lan Chi was not certain what the waiting meant – it could mean that the general was seriously considering her proposal, or it could mean that he was arranging a hanging.

The door to the sitting room opened, and Lan and Changda jumped to their feet.

Changda's uncle Yiandao entered, followed by his brother-in-law, Jong Wu. Jong Wu, a colonel, was a particularly dour man not prone to smiling. He stopped before the two young women and sketched a bow before clearing his throat.

"Miss Chi, thank you so much for your patience." _Chi _was the only name that Lan had given him upon her arrival.

Lan's heart dropped. This did not sound promising. "He – he won't see me, will he?" All her dreams started to crack.

Yiandao and Jong Wu exchanged glances again. "On the contrary. He is quite – interested. I am not certain if _you _will be, however."

Lan's response was unwavering. "Oh, I will be, Colonel. I _assure _you that I will be."

The colonel nodded. "In that case, he has time to see you now – if it pleases you."

"Yes. Yes, it does. Could I – have a moment to tidy myself, please?"

The colonel gave a nod of his head. "A moment only, I'm afraid. The general has little time."

"Of course." Her smile was placating. "Thank you."

Jong Wu left them, followed by Yiandao, who gave Lan a concerned look.

As the door closed, Lan turned to Changda. "This may be it, Changda." She unlooped the belt of her robe to reveal her underclothes beneath. She reached around, under the loosened robe, to her back, pulled out the scroll that she had concealed there, and handed it to the maid. She then closed the robe and tied the sash. "How is my hair?"

Her hair was completely covered by a kerchief that she had worn since approaching the base. Changda had suggested, prior to leaving her family farm, that her employer keep her hair completely obscured, if at all possible. Red hair, she had reasoned, was so unusual that it might allow someone to identify Lady Lan Chi in the future.

"Not visible." Changda assured her, and straightened Lan's robe.

"Good." Lan held out her hand for the scroll, which Changda returned.

"You will be careful, won't you, my lady?" Changda accidentally slipped and used Lan Chi's title.

Lan nodded. "I'll be fine. Besides, I _am_ very highly trained in martial arts." Despite her nervousness, Lan had a twinkle in her eyes.

Changda gave a small smile. "Oh! I _do _hope that you won't have to use them."

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Lan slipped the scroll into the front of her robe.

Changda opened the door to find Jong Wu standing there. "Are you ready, Miss Chi?"

Lan nodded, gave Changda a quick embrace, and followed Jong Wu.

She found General Fong staring out a long window in his enormous office, his hands clasped behind his back. He was a big man, who wore his uniform well. His shoulders were broad, and his legs and bare feet were thick. A long cape hung down his back, and his uniform boasted shoulder plates that resembled stylized animal heads. It was very disconcerting.

Lan stopped before him and waited, silently, for a long minute, until he spoke.

"Have you ever been unable to sleep, young lady?" His voice was deep and smooth, but unyielding.

_All the time_, she thought.

"Yes." She answered quietly, not certain what the object of his question was.

He continued looking out the window, his fingers flexing.

"And what do you do when you lie there, hour after hour?"

Her silence was lengthy. "I think."

"Yes. And what do you think of?"

Her answer was hesitant. Best not to give away too many details. "Many things. My family, mainly."

There was a long pause, and he turned his head slightly, craning to look at something in the distance. "So do I. But my family – _my _family – is composed of the soldiers under my command." He turned then, and Lan Chi was given her first glimpse of a stern face. His brown hair was secured in an Earth Kingdom style topknot, and he wore a beard that came halfway down his chest.

He walked towards her, his stride long and confident. "I lie awake at night _because _of my family." He stopped before her, too close for her liking, but she refused to step back. Instead, she tipped her head to look at him. "Because I _worry _about them. Because of this war."

He stared at her for a long moment, his eyes piercing and suspicious, then swept past her to his desk on the far side of the giant room, and the edge of his cape brushed her legs.

She turned to follow him, and stopped before the desk as he sat.

He looked at her for a long time, obviously attempting to intimidate her with his gaze, but she was unflinching.

He finally spoke. "I am told that you have a way to help the Earth Kingdom."

Lan, who had been focusing on a spot above his shoulder, looked into his face. "Yes."

He pulled a parchment across his desk towards him without removing his eyes from her face. "Here are some details that I believe you provided to Colonel Wu." He cleared his throat. "General Shu, in command of _three thousand men_ of the Fifth Battalion of the Fire Nation Royal Army, sequestered five miles to the east of Ba Sing Se." He turned the parchment to her, as if to allow her to inspect it, but she felt no need. She had copied out the parchment herself, and knew what it said.

She nodded, and he continued, although he did not look at the parchment either. "General Tran, in command of the thirty-third brigade, which consists of seven hundred men, bivouacked barely _two _miles to the north of the Fifth. Odd, wouldn't you consider it?"

"The Fire Lord thought so."

His brows shot up. "The _Fire Lord_? Yes, I can understand that – if it's true."

"It is." She asserted.

"So you are saying that _your_ sources are close enough to the Fire Lord that you knew his reaction."

_Don't give anything away, Lan Chi_! _Be **very **careful_!

"My sources are – myriad."

"Huh." He looked at her, his jaw set. "You travel in high circles, Miss."

"Perhaps I do."

He looked at her with distaste. "Spies are among the most despicable of all human beings." He waited for his words to sink in. "However, they are a necessary evil in war, I'm afraid."

When she did not respond, he turned the parchment back to him, and looked at it speculatively. "All of this information is true, Miss. I'm certain you know that. What you may not know is that our _own _spies brought us the same information."

Lan's heart skipped. She felt as if she were seeing the dissolution of her plans before her eyes.

He took her silence as an admittance. "You have nothing else, do you?"

_Don't tell him yet_, she thought to herself. _Not quite yet_.

She smiled what she hoped was a secretive smile. "Perhaps I do, Sir. The question I have for you is this: what can you _offer_ me?"

He squinted at her, as if trying to judge her veracity. "What do you want?"

This was what she was hoping for. "Will you give me whatever I _ask_?" Her heart began pounding.

He gave a small laugh. "Not likely. But, then again, I do _not_ know what you want."

"I want freedom."

He spread his hands expansively. "You are not a prisoner here. Not yet, at least." His smile became predatory, and Lan, for one moment, wondered at the wisdom in coming here, virtually alone and unprotected. However, she knew that she could not betray that fear.

She looked at him unwaveringly, which was quite a feat, since she was certain that she was shaking. "You would not do well to decide such a thing, Sir."

"Really?" He asked, incredulously, and Lan could tell that he was not intimidated by her empty threat. "And why do you say that?"

"I have – much to offer." She hoped that he would take the bait that she was offering.

"Indeed? I have not seen such."

Lan's smile now became that of a predator. He was nearly landed. "You have not promised me anything that would compel me to show it to you."

"And so we come back to the unanswered question. What do you want?"

"I told you. Freedom. But not for me."

"For whom, then?"

"A friend."

"A friend? And, who, pray tell, is this _friend_?"

"A judge in the Fire Nation colonies."

He gave a bark of laughter. "A Fire Nation judge? You wish to buy his freedom? Is he in our custody, then?"

"No. But you and I both know that, when the Earth Kingdom wins the war, _every_ Fire Nation official's freedom is forfeit."

His face became stone. "Yes. We'll see justice done."

She nodded. "Yes. Justice is important, but not more important that the lives of your _family_. Lives that very well might be lost if the war drags on. Lives that the information that I can provide may save."

"How can I be certain that your – information is valid?"

"You already know that what I have given you so far is – you've said so yourself."

His eyes narrowed further. "And this – judge is important to you?"

"As much as your own family is to you."

He looked her over speculatively. "All right. The information that you have – provided it is proven truthful – for this judge's life." He extended his hand. "Show me what you have. I _assume_ that you have it in your possession."

"While I appreciate your word, Sir, I would prefer to have your vow in writing."

A reluctant admiration came into his eyes. "Fine." He stood and walked to a gong, which he rang with a mallet. After a few seconds, a secretary entered, carrying a portable writing desk.

"Ah, Chu. You've brought your writing materials. Good. We have a – _contract_ to draw up. This young lady is selling us some _property_, shall we say, in exchange for the freedom of a Fire Nation Occupied Territories judge."

The secretary looked at Lan Chi with interest, but the look she returned was devoid of expression. She still had a role to play, and she would play it.

"Now, if you please, the information." Fong extended his hand again.

"The contract, first. You can always rescind it, should the information not prove to your satisfaction."

He looked annoyed. "Very well." He turned to his secretary. "Write this down." He began to recite the terms of the contract.

"Be it all known," he said, standing and beginning to pace,_ "_on this seventeenth day of the second moon in the twelfth year of the reign of our most sovereign lord, Earth King Kuei, the following terms: one, that the freedom of Fire Nation Occupied Territories Judge_," _he stopped and turned to Lan Chi.

"What is his name?" He asked.

"Fai Liang, of Lao Hai, Most High Judge of the Fire Nation Southern Colonies."

He looked at her with disgust, but he continued. "Fai Liang, of Lao Hai, Most High Judge of the Fire Nation Southern _Occupied Territories_ be granted, at the cessation of hostilities between the sovereign Earth Kingdom and the tyranny of the Fire Nation. And, two, that Judge Liang not be held responsible, in perpetuity, for his war crimes."

"Judge Liang has never been guilty of war crimes. He has been quite just."

He gave her a disbelieving look. "I am sure that he is a paragon. That language, however, will prevent any charges connected with his activities during the war from being leveled. I assume that is what your ultimate goal is."

She inclined her head, as if that were an obvious detail, when, in reality, she had not considered that.

"Now," he gave a stern look, "the information, if you please."

She withdrew it, and handed it to him.

He grabbed it from her, uncorked the tube and withdrew the parchment. He walked to his desk as he unrolled the paper, spreading it on the surface. He was silent for several long moments, and, then gestured to his secretary. "Send for Colonels Wu, Zhang, Liu, and Huang. _Immediately_."

"The contract, please." She held out her own hand.

He looked at her distractedly. "Give it to her." He ordered his secretary, who complied before he left.

She turned to leave.

"Wait." It was the general, who seemed to tear his eyes from the parchment. "This has the Fire Lord's seal on it."

"Yes." Her pulse jumped.

His look was calculating. "You do travel in the highest circles."

"I did not lie."

"Can you get access to more documents like this?"

She took a moment to survey him. He stood stiffly, but there was an air of eagerness about him. "Perhaps."

A small smile came over his face. "Then _perhaps _we have more to discuss."

"You want more information like this."

"If you can get it."

"I may be able to – for the right price."

His smile grew wider, and, inside, Lan Chi was smiling, as well.

"Money is no object for information such as this."

"Well, since I do not want money, that is not an issue."

His face fell. "Wh – what do you want, then? Property? Position?"

"There are – a few more people for whom I would like immunity."

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, well, then, I suppose that is something that we might be able to arrange. Another judge, perhaps?"

"Not quite. There are two that I have in mind who are rather _higher _up in Fire Nation society."

"Yes?" He was suspicious. "A territorial governor, perhaps? A military commander?"

"In a manner of speaking."

He turned his head slightly, and his eyes narrowed. "Well, go on, then. Who is the recipient of your largesse?"

"I want your guarantee that you will give me what I ask."

"How can I guarantee _anything _if you will not tell what it is you ask, and if I do not know what you will bring me."

"Troop strength, location, leaders, strategy." All of the things she had had access to over the past year and a half, welcomed, as she had been, into Fire Nation garrisons and the like.

"You can gain access to all of this?"

"Yes."

"That is considerable."

"It is. I can provide details for _all _of the southern Fire Nation forces." A bit of a lie, to be sure, but necessary.

"Impressive, if it is true."

"It is."

"And how will you gain access to this treasure trove of information?"

_Good question_. She had not actually gotten that far in her planning. "I shan't tell you, General. You wouldn't believe me, anyway, and it's safer, for me, if you do not know."

He looked at her with great consideration. "Very well. Keep your own counsel, then. But I must ask you, again: for whose life are you bargaining?"

She drew in a deep breath. "General Iroh and Crown Prince Zuko."

Fong's eyes grew wide and he burst into laughter.

Lan's face darkened as the laughter carried on for thirty seconds or more. "I fail to see the comedy, Sir."

Fong wiped tears from his eyes. "Miss, you would have to provide me with a blueprint of the Fire Nation palace to earn clemency for the _Dragon of the West_! And The Fire Lord's son!" He began laughing again at the absurdity.

Lan's mind raced. At least he was considering it – he did not dismiss it summarily.

"A map of the palace would do you little good, although I could provide it." Let him see that she was in earnest.

He stopped laughing. "Wh – wha?"

"It's not hard. I can draw it up now, if you like, as a show of good faith."

He squinted at her. "You know the palace well enough that you can draw it from _memory_?"

She realized that she had given away too much, and decided to be more circumspect. "There is quite a bit that I know, you will find."

"What I _find_, Miss, is that it is hard to believe that you are privy, at your young age, to _any _intelligence at all."

"Then how do you explain my possession of the information you now have spread on your desk?"

He glanced at the parchment briefly, which had rolled itself back up. He shrugged. "Chance. You found that, and are trying to capitalize on it."

"I will not deny that I found it. I can also _find_ quite a bit more information."

"Well, now is the time to more specific, then."

I have already told you. Troop strength, names of leaders, strategy."

"All very nebulous, unless you can name the regions."

She sighed. Did he want an itemized list of the information? Which cities? Which could she offer up to him? Which could she betray in the name of saving Iroh and Zuko? "Nanzhou. Daejeon Ju. Xin Xian De. Tian Sheng Shi. Tao Xing. Do those mean anything to you, General?" They were all names of large cities that Lan had visited with Fai, with the exception of the last, which was the city where her fiancé was governor. She had no way, at this point, of obtaining information from Tao Xing, but, as the governor's wife, she would probably have access to everything that Fong wanted.

"Of course. They are the names of occupied territories. Are you saying you can provide information on the garrisons there?"

"Yes."

He looked away, thinking, and turned to her. "Troop numbers? Leaders? Locations? Strategy? Supply routes?"

"Yes. All of that." Hopefully.

He was long in responding. "I cannot make this decision on my own. I must – consult with my superiors. But, if you can _truly _supply all of that information for those territories, I think that we can trade the Dragon of the West and the Fire Lord's son." He spat their titles.

She ignored his reaction. "When will you have authorization?"

"I will send an eel hound. Perhaps within two days."

"Time if of the utmost importance, General. I am due home, and cannot wait forever."

"Yes, yes."

He looked at her for a long moment. "I don't know, Miss, who you are, but I suspect, by your accent, that you're Fire Nation nobility." She did not answer, so he continued. "What makes someone – someone _so _young, want to betray her country?"

"I won't say, Sir, who I am, or where I'm from, but I will tell you that I have lived and traveled in the Earth Kingdom, and I've seen the effects of the war – perhaps not on the soldiers, as you have, but on the people, and on the land. And although I think that the Fire Nation is not _only_ to blame for the atrocities that I've seen, by being here, it is, ultimately, their fault. And I know, or at least I _think_, that, once Ba Sing Se enters the war, the Earth Kingdom will win."

"That is not widely known knowledge, Miss." The general's eyes narrowed.

"See how good I am at ferreting out secrets?"

He reluctantly acknowledged her point. "Be advised, though, that whatever you _think_ will be enough to buy their freedom, it will probably need to be more."

"But if I provide to you what you have asked of me – all the information for those colonies, it will be enough?"

"Yes. _If _I can get permission from the Council of Five."

"The Council of Five?"

"The assembly that decides Earth Kingdom strategy."

"Well, tell them, Sir, what I have provided you with, and tell them that there is more where that came from."

* * *

Within two days, Lan Chi had her answer. The Council of Five, apparently, agreed with her audacious plan: she would steal and trade Fire Nation military secrets to the Earth Kingdom in exchange for the freedom of both Iroh and Zuko after the war.

So, with this knowledge, she met once more with General Fong to go over details of the plan.

"Once you have gotten the information in _whatever _way you may, Miss," he asked, "how will you get it to me?"

She had thought on this. "I would prefer, General, to return to you with all of it – at one time if possible. I don't trust that sending you any intelligence piecemeal, or through other channels, is in my best interest."

He nodded. "I tend to agree with you. But we need to have a time frame for all of this. It cannot, I'm afraid, be open ended."

"By the end of the year for some of it. Some details may take – longer."

"As long as you understand that your – _payoff –_ will be delayed until you have fulfilled your portion of the bargain."

"I understand."

"Very well. So you think to return here with the intelligence?"

"I _do_ think it best."

"And how will you get here?"

"I – I'm not certain." That she had not figured out – like much of her plan.

"Well, then, allow me to make this a bit easier for you. Get to _any _Earth Kingdom garrison, and tell them you are one of mine. They'll see that you are brought to me."

"Forgive me my skepticism, Sir, but _simply _telling them that I am in your employ seems a bit – chancy."

"Quite true. Tell the garrison commander that you are one of mine, and give them my password. It's _lion turtle_."

"Lion turtle?"

"Yes. That will see you safe to this fortress. But, mind you," he pointed at her, "no tricks. Don't think to outsmart me, or double cross me. You'll get no secrets out of me."

"No. This is far too important to me, Sir. I promise you."

"Good."

"Just one other thing: I want documents guaranteeing General Iroh's and Prince Zuko's safety in _my _possession when I leave here after delivering the intelligence. With _your _signature on it – as well as the signature of this Council of Five you mentioned."

"I hardly think that necessary."

"With all due respect, Sir, I say that it is. If that is the commanding body of the Earth Kingdom military, I will have all their signatures. I do not want anyone on the Council to say that they were _uninformed_ of our – arrangement."

He looked peeved, but acquiesced. "Of course."

"I also want your word, as a man on honor, that you will see to it, once the war is over, that the General and the Prince are granted clemency."

He looked at her seriously. "If you do as you have promised – bring me the information, as you have said, then, yes, you have my word."

* * *

"I admit that I _am_ afraid for you." Changda's face was worried as she packed Lan Chi's meager luggage. They were readying themselves to leave General Fong's base after Lan Chi had returned from her meeting with the general.

"No need, Changda. I know what I'm doing." Lan wished she was really as confident as she sounded.

Changda looked at her mistress with concern. It was an extremely dangerous bargain that the younger woman had made. "If you say so, my, er – _Lan_."

Lan Chi gave her a reassuring smile. "I do." The truth was that she really had _no _good idea of how to carry out the plan she had made.

"Is part of your plan marrying that _old _man?"

Lan's face fell. "If – if it can help me accomplish my goal."

"No! My lady! You must not!" She slipped, again, and used Lan's title. "Whatever could that _accomplish_?"

Lan took her hands. "There are things that you do not know, Changda, and it should remain that way. In fact, the less that you know about what I'm doing, the better for you. And for me."

Changda's face was confused. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that, if you know nothing, you can't tell anyone _anything_. It means less risk for you. It means that you can go home and be – _safe_."

"But I thought that I was going with you to Tao Xing."

Lan shook her head. "No. You're going home – to your family's farm. That's the best place for you – somewhere the Fire Nation can't easily find you. When I leave for Tao Xing, you _must _go home. Besides, you don't want to go with me. You want to marry Li, don't you?"

The maid took on a petulant look. "I want to go with you."

"No, you don't. You're saying that because you're my _friend_, and I appreciate it, so much, but I won't let you come with me."

"But –"

Lan held up her hand. "We don't need to discuss this now. Let's just get back to Lao Hai. There will be plenty of time to talk about it then."

* * *

**Author's Notes: ** Thank you for reading; I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. It had little action, but a lot of exposition - Lan Chi's plan to save Iroh and Zuko is laid out. We'll see, in the coming chapters, exactly how she intends to implement that plan, and the effect it might have on her life, and on the lives of Iroh and Zuko.

I promise, dear reader, that we are not far from Lan Chi's reunion with Zuko. Be patient; it's coming soon!

Thanks go out to my betareaders - bowow0708 convinced me that this chapter was too skimpy to properly reveal Lan's Machiavellian plan. I hope that I have resolved that problem. Sunflower13, as usual, supplies me with helpful comments that make me a better writer, so I say, to the two of them, again - THANK YOU!

Also, to those new readers, I want to let you know that I update both this and my Young Justice fanfic on Sundays - I try to update every week, and, for the most part, I am successful. However, sometimes I post a bonus chapter during the week, so it's best to be following my fics so that you will always know when a new chapter comes out!

Please review so I can be in the top of the most reviewed Avatar fanfics - that's my goal!

: )


	27. Chapter 27

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN _NICKELODEON'S AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER_ OR ITS CHARACTERS. I just wish that Zuko had been adopted by a nice Earth Kingdom family.**

* * *

Lan Chi drew in a deep breath as she laid a hand on the knob of the front door of her aunt and uncle's house. She turned and gave Changda, standing behind her clutching their valises, a worried look.

Changda gave a quick nod, and that gave Lan the confidence to open the door. She stuck her head within; the front room, however, was empty, and she and Changda entered quietly.

Lan's footsteps were quiet in the room. "Changda, go ahead and go to your room. I really need to see Aunt Ming and Uncle Fai on my own."

Changda did as she was told, and Lan went in search of her aunt and uncle. She found Ming seated in the rear sitting room, taking advantage of the morning light to embroider.

"Aunt Ming?" Lan's voice was small as she stopped inside the doorway.

Ming looked up hopefully, her hand contracting around the item she had been working. "Lan? Oh, Lan Chi!" She jumped up, her threads and needles forgotten, and ran over to embrace Lan.

She hugged her niece to her tightly. "Oh, you're safe! You're safe!" She held her away from her. "Thank the spirits! Let me look at you." She surveyed Lan Chi and found her acceptable, and she gave her niece a small shake. "You _horrible _girl! I thought that we had lost you forever! Oh, it's too bad that you're too old for paddling!" She turned. "Fai! Fai!" She called. "She's home! She's home!"

Ming pulled Lan back into an embrace, and Lan heard running footsteps, and, over her aunt's shoulder, saw Fai in the doorway, his hand on the wall.

He took a few running steps inside, and Lan freed herself from Ming to hug her uncle.

"Thank the spirits you're safe. We were _so_ worried." Lan Chi could feel Fai trembling, and she was struck by a wave of guilt, and she clutched him closer.

"I'm so sorry, Uncle Fai," she whispered, her eyes closed against the threat of tears.

He stepped back. "You should tell your aunt that. She was beside herself with anxiety."

Ming's eyes were full of unshed tears. "You almost missed your birthday."

"I still have two days." Lan managed a tremulous smile.

Ming took hold of her again and crushed her in a tight embrace.

"I'm so sorry." Lan said again, and meant it sincerely.

Ming nodded and released her. "All that matters it that you're home. Where did you _go_?"

Lan shook her head. She could _not _tell them. "I – I just had to think." She looked at the disbelief on their faces. "Please don't blame Changda." It was time to begin lying to them; although she loathed the thought of being dishonest with them, she had to protect Changda, and she also had to keep her plans secret from them. "She discovered me as I was sneaking out, and she insisted on going with me. _Please _don't be angry with her."

Ming and Fai exchanged looks, but Fai answered. "No. Of course not. We're glad that she was with you."

"Thank you."

Ming pointed a finger at her. "Don't think that this is the last you will hear of this, young lady. Just because we're happy that you're home and safe doesn't mean that we're not _furious_ with you. Do you know how _worried _we were? Do you know how much _money _it cost to search for you – a fruitless search, I might add?"

"I'm sorry." She look at them in turn. "I'll spend the rest of my life apologizing, if necessary."

"The rest of your life?" Ming threw her hands up. "Iroh is due to be here in less than _two _weeks! And your birthday is the day after tomorrow, and we were planning a _party_, and now there's _no_ time, and we still have to _pack_, and you _still_ have to get your trousseau together – you are _not _going to Tao Xing with the rags you own now..." Ming paused for a breath. "And – and, there's _so _much to do, and then you'll be gone, and we won't have you anymore!" She suddenly burst into tears, and Lan looked on in horror as she groped for a handkerchief in her sleeve.

Fai patted his wife's arm. "She has been under _quite a bit _of stress since your disappearance, you know."

"I know. I'm sorry, Aunt Ming." Lan began crying, too. She had not meant to cause so much pain to her aunt and uncle, and she had not really begun to think about _leaving_ – _truly_ leaving, and never seeing Ming and Fai again.

She threw herself into her aunt's arms again, and they stood there for several long minutes, crying and hugging, with Fai awkwardly trying to comfort them.

"Come, come, what is happening to my strong women? It's not the end of the world, you know. Ming, you know full well that you can visit Lan whenever you want."

"But I want to go with her now! To her wedding! I don't want her married in such a state – with no family or friends!"

Lan was aghast. Aunt Ming could not come with her! That would ruin everything!

She pulled back. "No, Aunt Ming. I do not want you to come. It will be – too sad for me, and for you. I want you to stay here. I want to know that you are happy _here_." It was a lame excuse, but all that Lan could conjure. She had to keep Ming off Zuko's ship – she knew that she could not do what she needed to do with Ming around – someone who could enter her cabin anytime she liked, who could search her things, who knew her well, and who would know when something was wrong. No, she was counting on the distance that being on a ship with all men would give her – a lot of time to herself, and complete privacy.

"B – but..."

"No, Aunt Ming. _Please_. This is how I want it to be. Please."

"No! Absolutely not!" Ming's face was severe.

"Aunt Ming! Please! It's _my _life! Please!"

"Ming, she's right. If that's her wish, we must honor it."

Ming and Fai looked at one another, and then Ming gave a small nod. "Well, I do not _like_ it, and I am still _very _upset with you, and you would think that you would _concede _on this _one _point and let me go with you to make up for the _worry _you have put me through!"

"Ming." Fai's voice brooked no disagreement, and Ming glared at him.

"We'll talk about this later." Ming tried to dismiss the conversation.

"No, Aunt Ming, we will _not_." She knew that, if Ming continued to pester her, she might break down and allow her to come, and then all would be lost. "I am going by myself, and that is final." She thought to appeal to her aunt's sympathies. "Please?" Her face and voice became plaintive.

Ming drew in a long breath, causing her nostrils to flare. "I do not agree with this."

Lan knew capitulation when she heard it. "I know. Thank you."

"Well, at least Changda will be with you." Ming reasoned.

"No, Aunt Ming, Changda and I spoke about that. She is going to go home – back to her family. They have cobbled together enough money to start farming again on a larger scale, and she'll be needed there." She and Changda had stopped by Changda's family farm on the way back to Lao Hai, and Lan had given them all of the money that she had saved, which was nearly one thousand gold pieces. Changda's mother, despite her unfriendliness towards Lan previously, had thanked her family's benefactor, and had assured her that, with the money that Lan had given them, they would buy an oxen team, rebuild the barns, and purchase seed for the next year's crops.

Ming blinked at her, blindsided. "Oh. Well, then. I – suppose – if she – wants to go home, she – can." The older woman seemed deflated for just a moment. "But then you'll have _no one _at your wedding!"

"What are Uncle Iroh and –" she swallowed here, trying not to think of Zuko at her wedding to someone else, "Zuko? They're family. We'll be – well represented, Aunt Ming. I promise."

"I hardly think that a disgraced former general and your ex-fiancé qualifies as _well represented_." Ming sniffed.

Fai and Lan Chi looked at her with horrified eyes. Never had either heard such vitriol from her about Iroh or Zuko.

"Ming Yi Liang!" This came from her husband.

"Well, it's true." She defended herself. "They both abandoned her, and _they_ shall be the ones who get to see her married?!" Ming demanded petulantly, folding her arms.

Lan had gone pale. "Aunt Ming, were it a joyous occasion, were I marrying the man I love, I would demand that you and Uncle Fai be there. But, such as it is, a _farce_ and a mockery of marriage, then I really do not want my entire family there to see me shamed – and bound to a man I have never met. I thought that you would understand and respect that."

Ming's defiant look melted away. "Oh, my darling. I am _so _sorry. I am just – missing you so much already, and I – lashed out." Her shoulders slumped. "I hope that you forgive me."

Lan Chi nodded. She could not stay mad at Ming, even if the older woman did say hurtful things about Iroh and Zuko – especially since her aunt had acquiesced, and would not press to accompany Lan on the journey.

Everything depended on Lan remaining relatively solitary during the voyage – so that she might keep her secrets.

* * *

Zuko looked out over the ocean, roiling beneath his ship. The seas had been particularly rough recently as they entered into the subtropical waters in the southern half of the oceans, on the way to Lao Hai. They were approximately two weeks from port, and Zuko had been working to prepare himself to meet Lan Chi again.

He had been thinking of her quite a bit. Thinking of her and dreaming of her. But that had to stop. She was truly lost to him now. She had a fiancé; her marriage was arranged – by the Fire Lord, and could not be undone, no matter how much the _future _Fire Lord wanted it.

"Prince Zuko! Why do you look so melancholy?" His uncle had come up behind him, and Zuko jumped.

He glared at the older man. "I don't. I'm _looking_ at the sea."

Iroh assumed the same position as Zuko, arms crossed and feet spread. "She is magnificent when she is angry, isn't she?"

"What on Earth are you talking about, Uncle?"

Iroh smiled sweetly. "The sea is a great feminine force, Prince Zuko. As is the moon, which controls her. That is why the greatest waterbenders are women."

"I couldn't care less if the greatest waterbenders are platypus bears. Firebending is superior, in every way."

"They are actually complementary. Fire can consume small amounts of water, but a deluge of water can destroy fire."

Zuko gave him a dry look. "Thank you for enlightening me." His voice said the opposite.

"You're welcome." Iroh took the words at face value. "So, Zuko, are you excited about Lan Chi's arrival?"

"That is another thing that I could not care less about. The sooner we get her to her destination and off my ship, the better."

Iroh gave him a shrewd look. "It will be at least six weeks, you know, Zuko."

His nephew sighed. "I know."

"It is quite all right to still have feelings for her, Prince Zuko."

"Had. I _had _feelings for her." He corrected his uncle.

"I am certain that she still has feelings for you."

"Well, that is her problem. I do not reciprocate. Besides," he rubbed the scarred side of his face. "_I'm_ certain that she'll change her mind once she sees me." He pushed away from the railing and walked away, his back straight and his demeanor stiff.

* * *

Lan's last birthday in Lao Hai was quiet, as all her others were. Ming had wanted to throw together an impromptu party for Lan, but the birthday girl had balked; she really had no close friends in Lao Hai, and she did not want to spend an evening making small talk.

She came down to the breakfast table that day to find the traditional long noodle awaiting her, as well as a peach bun and red eggs. As she obediently ate, Ming put a small box by her plate.

"What's this?" Lan Chi asked.

"Open it." Ming smiled, and, with a quick look at Fai, Lan complied. Inside the box nestled an exquisite jade necklace, which Lan removed with awe. "Aunt Ming. Uncle Fai. It's – _beautiful_. Beyond beautiful."

"You really like it?" Ming seemed uncertain.

"Like it? I _love _it! What's _not _to like? May I put it on?"

"It's yours." Fai smiled. "Of course you may."

Ming helped her, and, after securing the clasp, Lan patted it gently around her neck. "How does it look?" She asked, touching the gem.

Ming smiled. "Magnificent. It complements your coloring and hair beautifully."

Lan smiled. "Thank you. Thank you, both. It's gorgeous."

Ming grabbed Fai's hand. "It belonged to my mother."

Lan's eyes widened. "R – really? To my grandmother?"

Ming nodded. "Yes, indeed. It was a gift from my father upon their betrothal."

"Aunt Ming, maybe you shouldn't give it to me. I mean, it is a family heirloom."

Ming took her niece's hand. "And aren't you my family? And the closest thing to a daughter I shall ever have?"

"Oh, Aunt Ming." Lan gave her a spontaneous hug. "I'll always cherish it."

"I know that you will. Now let's finish breakfast. I've got the dressmaker coming."

"What?! Why? Don't tell me I'm having _more _clothes made! I already have enough to wear a different robe a day for a _month_."

Ming took a sip of tea. "And as we do _not _know your future husband's financial situation, nor his meanness in providing you with a clothing allowance, we shall send you with enough robes so that you may wear a different one for at least one and a _half_ months."

Lan's brows arched. "I think we know that his financial situation has improved by at _least _10,000 gold pieces." That was the size of her dowry, which her fiancé would receive upon her arrival in Tao Xing.

"Nevertheless, the dressmaker is coming, so don't eat too much. We want the sizing to be accurate."

Fai, wisely, had stayed out of the conversation until now, when he addressed Lan Chi. "You know that she will not give up, Lan. Just let her dress you, and we shall all be the happier."

* * *

The seamstress came, along with two assistants, and, after measuring Lan, brought out bolt after bolt of exquisite fabric. Silks in vibrant colors, as well as soft, muted cottons and linens, were spread throughout the sitting room.

Ming Yi walked through the array and chose hues that she thought would look good with Lan Chi's coloring, although her niece retained the final decision.

"And how about this one?" Ming held up a beautiful, burnished gold silk.

Lan nodded. "It's splendid."

The dressmaker beamed with pride. "Oh, yes, my lady! This is indeed exquisite! Just _feel _it." She brought the bolt to Lan to touch it, which Lan did with reverent fingers.

"It's as soft as a lover's touch, isn't it, my lady?"

Lan blushed. "I'm sure I wouldn't know."

"Well, my lady, I'm certain you soon _shall_." The seamstress winked at Lan coquettishly, and Lan's eyes grew wide. She had not thought much on the physical side of her impending marriage, and she did not really want to. The idea that she would have to give herself to a stranger in a way that she had never even _considered _with anyone other than Zuko made her feel slightly queasy.

She gave the woman a sickly smile. "Splendid," she said, again, lamely, and dropped her hand.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **I hope that you enjoyed this very short chapter. It is "hot off the presses," and not even read by my betareaders (forgive me!), but I did not want to miss another Sunday deadline!

A couple of details were covered here, and, next up, some goodbyes, and some (long awaited) reunions!

So be here next week!


	28. Chapter 28

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN _NICKELODEON'S AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER_ OR ITS CHARACTERS. I just want an air date for season two of _Legend of Korra_!**

* * *

Lan Chi sat down on her bed and looked around her at the dozens of trunks and boxes. They were stacked neatly in piles, lining her walls and crowding the floor.

"I'm doing it." She said to her luggage. "I'm _really _doing it." She was not only going off to be married, she was going off to save her family, and to betray her country.

She sighed. How could she do it? How could she send hundreds of Fire Nation soldiers, or perhaps, even more, to their deaths? She had no illusions that no one would come to harm by the secrets she turned over to the Earth Kingdom. She knew that, by agreeing to bring intelligence to General Fong, she was bringing the Fire Nation closer and closer to defeat. How could she do it?

How could she not? The Fire Nation would lose. It was clear to her. When Ba Sing Se entered the war, the Fire Nation would lose. And when the Fire Nation lost, Iroh and Zuko would most probably be arrested. Indeed, the only way that they would avoid arrest would be to go on the run, and she knew that they would not do that. They would _never _run from anyone. But, if she could

re clemency, she could save them.

And she would. She would save them, or die trying.

But she hoped it wouldn't come to that. She hoped to gather all the information that she had promised the general and take it to him, and emerge alive – with two letters of pardon in her possession.

One copy of the letter of pardon for her uncle Fai was in General Fong's possession, and the other in Changda's; the maid had promised Lan Chi that she would keep it safe and produce it should circumstances ever demand it.

Lan trusted her implicitly – she had trusted Changda with her life, and she now trusted her with Fai's.

As if conjured, Changda appeared in the doorway. "My lady, Lady Ming Yi asked me to tell you that your cousin's ship has been sighted entering the harbor. It should be docked within two hours."

Lan paled. Zuko was here. After more than two long, difficult years, he was _finally _here – she was _finally_ going to see him.

She felt slightly sick to her stomach, and put her hand to her abdomen. "I – I can't believe it."

Changda smiled. "Are you excited, my lady?"

Lan looked at her. "Scared."

Changda looked surprised. "_Scared_? Why are you scared? This is what you've _dreamed _of!"

Lan nodded. "I know. I know. It's foolish – I _know_. It's just that –" she looked down at her hands, "it's been _two _years since I saw him. Everything has changed. He's spent two years traveling the world. He's seen so much."

"And so have you."

"Yes, I suppose. We're not the same people that we – were. And now I'm marrying – someone else."

Changda sat down beside her, although, just a few months before, she would not have thought to take such liberties with her employer. "But why must you, my lady? Why don't you just run off with the prince?"

Lan gave her a smile full of regret. "You don't _run off_ with a prince of the realm – at least not this prince. Besides, where would we run?"

"Couldn't you stay on his ship and travel with him?"

She sighed heavily. "Not if the Fire Lord has any say. And he does."

"I don't understand."

"He – the Fire Lord – _hates _me."

"But why? Why does he hate you? Surely you're mistaken." Changda could not understand such a thing. Lady Lan Chi was always so kind to her!

"No. I'm not mistaken – definitely not mistaken. He's as good as said it to me. He once told me he would rather see me dead than married to Zuko."

"But I don't understand! Your aunt's family is one of the best in the Fire Nation. At least that's what my mam told me when I applied for this job."

"Yes, well, it's not _that _side of the family that he objects to. It's my mother's."

"Because she was Water Tribe?"

"Yes. I think he also resents my uncle Iroh, and he thought, if I married Zuko, that Iroh would have too much influence."

"So he decided that you shouldn't be allowed to marry the prince at all."

"And found me another husband. What better way to prevent me from marrying Zuko's than to marry me to someone else?"

"And you could not object?"

"He's the Fire Lord. His word is law."

"I'm so sorry, my lady. But, still, you needn't marry that old man. You could still run away on your own."

"I know that I could, but, now, I need him."

"What? Why?"

Lan looked around furtively. She had told Changda little regarding her arrangements with General Fong; the less the maid knew, the better for all involved. "I need – something that he has." _Information_, she thought. "And the only way to get it is – to marry him. And so marry him I shall." It was a small price to pay to save Zuko and Iroh. Besides, once she got all the information that she could sell to Fong, she _could_ run away and lose herself in the Earth Kingdom. Granted, she would probably never see Zuko or Iroh again, but their lives were worth it.

"My lady, I don't like this plan at all."

Lan smiled genuinely this time. "You should, Changda. It will take you back to your home, and to your family. And give you and Li a strong start together."

Changda blushed. "It _is _all thanks to you, my lady. We could never repay you for your kindness."

"Changda, I don't want repayment. My reward is knowing that you are happy. And don't forget that you took me to," her voice dropped, "General Fong."

"I don't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing, my lady."

"Oh, it was definitely a good thing, believe me."

Just then, Ming came into the room, and Changda jumped to her feet.

Ming gave Changda an odd look, then smiled at her niece. "I see Changda told you that their boat has come into port."

"Ship, Aunt Ming."

Ming waved an airy hand. "What's the difference? Ship or boat, I hate the cursed things!"

Lan stood. "I thought you had defeated seasickness."

"I still have the memory of it."

"Well, then I suppose it's a good thing that you _aren't _accompanying me."

"No, not at all. I would suffer a thousand hours of nausea for you."

Lan gave Ming a swift hug. "Thank you, Aunt Ming."

Ming kissed her on the cheek. "You're welcome, dear. You know, there's still time for me to pack and go with you."

Lan shook her head, although she was smiling. "No, thank you. You stay here, with Uncle Fai."

"That old bore! Did you know he's hiring a new secretary?! He says I am not qualified! Can you believe it? Me, not qualified to jot down some boring old laws."

"You'd be bored going with Uncle Fai on progress by yourself. You'd have no one to talk to while he's working."

"As if I _ever _had you to talk with while he was working! _You _were always working, too!"

"I know." She turned to Changda. "I suppose we should start having my trunks brought down."

"Yes, my lady." Changda bowed and scurried off to get the footmen to carry all of Lan's things.

"And I suppose you should get into your traveling clothes." Ming smiled.

Lan sighed. "I suppose. Do I _really _have to wear the bian fang?" Women engaged to be married were, according to Fire Nation tradition, required to wear their hair up around a bian fang, a hair cross piece. The hair was wrapped around the bian fang, and the bian fang was then twisted on the top of the woman's head. Although she had worn bian fangs before, never for more than a few hours, and the traditional bian fang was _very uncomfortable_, and, because of this, Ming declared that Lan Chi had to wear it only in public.

"You're going out; you must wear it in public. You know that."

"Yes. Another delightful Fire Nation tradition."

"No single man should see you without it."

"Single men like _Zuko_, I suppose."

"Exactly."

Lan sighed. "Fine. I'll put the blasted thing on. But if _you _think that I shall wear it every day on the way to Tao Xing..." she pointed at her aunt.

"I know that you shan't. It's good enough if you wear it here. _Should _any of those terrible town gossips see you before you leave, they can report to _whomever_ they tattle to that you were dressed appropriately."

"As if I care what those old puma-cats say about me."

"Right now, you should. You want no scandal attached to your name before your marriage."

"And after my marriage? I can attract as much scandal as I like?"

"In my experience, once you give your husband his male heir, you'll have _quite _a bit more freedom."

"From _personal _experience? Really? Is that how it is with you and Uncle Fai?"

Ming sputtered for a moment. "B – but – no! Of course not! When I say _personal experience_, I mean that I have seen it happen – personally! In other marriages! Not my own – of course!"

Lan gave Ming a suspicious look. "If you say so."

"I do." Ming bristled. "Now, we need to get you ready, and I also have to make certain that the luncheon will be ready when they come."

"Aunt Ming, I don't think it's necessary to put on a big show."

"A big show? Lan Chi Sun, it is not everyday that I entertain _two _princes of the Fire Nation in my home. Besides, it's not a _big show_. It's a small show. Really."

"I saw the caterers."

"Well, Cook needed the help."

Lan looked at her for a long time, and, finally, exasperated, smiled fondly at her aunt. "Whatever you say, Aunt Ming."

Ming smiled back, sadly, and grasped her niece's hand. "I am going to miss you so much."

"I know. Me, too. But Uncle Fai is right. You can come visit whenever you like." It felt wrong to lie to her aunt; she knew that, once she had procured the intelligence that General Fong had requested, she would leave Tao Xing, whether she had a husband or not. By that time, the Fire Nation would probably be defeated, and the Fire Lord would have no say over her life at all, so she would have no reason to stay with a man she did not love.

"I know." Ming gave her a wise look. "Now let's call Changda and get you dressed."

* * *

Iroh knocked on the door of Zuko's cabin.

"Enter." He heard the prince's voice, and he turned the wheel and poked his head into the room.

Zuko was at his wash basin, shirtless, peering into a mirror on his wall. There was shaving soap on his face, and he held a straight razor.

"Zuko, we'll be pulling into port within the hour."

Zuko spared him a quick glance in the mirror. "So?"

"I wanted to give you another opportunity to come with me to fetch Lan Chi."

"Not interested. I'm going to the garrison. Is that it?"

Iroh rocked back and forth on his feet. "Welllllll," he drew the word out, " I wanted to talk to you before I left."

"What about?"

"About Lan Chi, of course."

Zuko flung foam into the basin off the razor. "What about her?"

"I know that you were in love with her –"

"It was a childish crush. I told you that already."

" – And she was in love with you."

"It was a crush on her part, as well, I'm certain. And, besides, two years is _too_ long to sustain a crush, Uncle."

"It was far beyond a crush. You wanted to marry her."

"I was barely fourteen. I was too young to make that decision. It was foolish. Is that all you wanted to say?"

"No. I wanted to say that I think that you'll find Lan much changed."

He pulled his upper lip down over his teeth to make a smooth surface. "Really? What could have possibly changed? She's grown taller? She has longer hair?"

"Well, yes, there is that, of course."

More foam hit the water of the basin. "Then what is it?"

He sighed. "She's was – very upset when we left her behind – when I sent her to her aunt's. She had already been left behind when I went to Ba Sing Se, and then she was sent to the Royal Fire Academy for Girls, and she changed there. You know that. She became more cautious, more withdrawn. I'm afraid that might have happened again."

"You mean that she might have grown up?" Zuko swept the unruined side of his face with the razor.

"Growing up doesn't always mean you become harder, Zuko."

Zuko gave him a withering look in the mirror.

Iroh sighed again. "Maybe it does. In any case, I am hoping that I will be able to draw her out of her shell – again. And it would help me, Zuko, if you could be – _nice _to her."

Zuko turned and crossed his arms over his bare chest. "Are you saying that I can't be nice?"

"I'm not saying that you _can't_ be nice."

"You're saying I'm not _usually_ nice."

"Yes."

"I'm nice!" Zuko yelled, hands in fists.

Iroh gave him a jaundiced look.

"I am!" Zuko protested. "I _am_ nice!"

"Prince Zuko, you're yelling."

"You're saying that I'm not nice!"

"Temper, Zuko. Remember the last time we were in port – at the market? You called that merchant a filthy swindler."

"He was trying to overcharge us!"

"And that beggar? You said he was a lazy, shiftless goldbricker."

"He was begging!"

"He had no legs and was blind, Zuko. What else do you think he is qualified for?"

Smoke came from Zuko's twitching fingers. He turned back to the mirror. "Fine. I'll be nice to your _precious_ niece." He growled.

"Thank you, Nephew." Iroh smiled innocently.

"Hmph." Zuko carefully shaved the area beneath his scar. The foam hit the water in the basin with a splat and small bubbles drifted up.

"How are you going to be nice, Zuko?" Iroh asked expectantly.

Zuko whirled to face his uncle again. "You're treating me like a child!"

"No. I am just trying to understand your definition of _nice_."

He turned away. "I won't call her names."

"Good."

"And I will greet her nicely when she comes onboard." He spat.

"And you'll welcome her to the ship and be gracious, like the good host that you are."

"Yes."

"And you shan't yell at her."

"I'm not an ogre, Uncle."

"Of course you're not."

Zuko wiped his face with a thin towel. "So go and get her, and leave me alone."

"Anxious to see her again, are you?"

Zuko rolled his eyes. There was no way that he would ever admit to Iroh just how anxious he was. "Uncle, I told you before, and I shall tell you again, _one last time_, that I truly could not care less about Lan Chi. I'm not in love with her anymore. I have a mission to accomplish, and that is _all _that I care about." He stood staring at his uncle, clutching the towel tightly. "And now, with that in mind, _I _am going to get dressed and visit the garrison. Perhaps they have word of the Avatar."

* * *

For Lan Chi to have said that she not anxious would have been a fabrication, and, so, she was glad that no one asked her. She had already lied so much that another lie made little difference, but it was so patently obvious that she was nervous that to have denied it would have marked her as a liar.

As Changda helped her to change and arranged the bian fang into Lan Chi's hair, Lan stared at her reflection in her vanity mirror. This would be the last time that she sat at this vanity, the last time that she would have Changda to assist her, the last time she could call this room her own.

"Are you sure that you don't want me to go along with you to Tao Xing, my lady?" Changda asked, setting pins into her mistress's hair. "I mean, I _could _go along." She continued swiftly. "Just a few bags to pack. It would only take me an hour or so."

Lan looked at her maid's reflection. "An d what about your family? You wouldn't even get a chance to say goodbye."

Changda's shoulders slumped. "It would be all right, my lady. _You _need me."

Lan Chi stood and took Changda's upper arms in her hands. "Your family needs you more. I'll be fine. Really. Besides, how can Li ask you to marry him if you're not here?"

Changda's eyes started to fill with tears. "Oh, my lady." She impulsively threw her arms around Lan, who returned the embrace.

"I am going to miss you so much, Changda. You've been the the only real friend that I have ever had."

"Oh, my lady, I'm sorry! That is so sad!"

Lan laughed. "I never thought that I needed friends until I met you."

Changda stepped back and wiped her eyes on her sleeve. "And I never thought that I would have a Fire Nation noblewoman as a friend."

"It was destiny that we meet, I think."

"So do I."

"I never really thought about there being _people_ in the Earth Kingdom. I know that it sounds odd, but we were always just taught about the Earth Kingdom as a whole, not as people, with families."

"I understand. I always thought that everyone from the Fire Nation was warmongers and, well, _evil_."

"We're not."

"I know that now."

"I'm so grateful to have known you, to have lived here. I've learned so much."

"Me, too."

"When are you leaving for home?"

"End of the week, I think. Li is going to drive me there." Changda blushed.

"Time for him to meet your parents?"

"I think so."

Lan thought it might be a good idea to reinforce Changda's story regarding Lan Chi's plans, should anyone ever ask. "You know that, if, anyone ever comes to see you about me, just deny everything. We never knew each other well, and you have no idea where I went."

"That part will be true."

"And you have no idea about anything I've done. Just stay strong."

"I will. No one will come, though. The war will be over soon."

"I hope so."

"And perhaps you will be able to come see me."

Lan wondered if that would ever happen. "Yes. Yes, I will."

* * *

Lan Chi waited anxiously in the front room, pacing in front of the window there and peering outside every minute or so, looking for the sight of a strange carriage that would indicate that Iroh and Zuko had arrived.

"Really, Lan Chi. You're going to wear a path in that rug." Ming lifted her eyes only briefly from her embroidery. "Why don't you sit down and do some needlework? It will calm you."

Lan shook her hands nervously, and continued pacing. "Calm me? Nothing will calm me. He's_ here _in Lao Hai, Aunt Ming."

"Can I assume that you are _not _talking about Iroh?" She turned her attention back to her work.

Lan stopped and looked at her in confusion. "What? Oh, yes, Uncle Iroh, too."

"You know that you can't have him." Ming looked slyly at her niece.

Lan's eager face crumpled, and Ming felt guilty. "I know. Believe me, I _know. _I have known that for a very long time. But I have a _chance _to see him, Aunt Ming, and _be _with him before I have to – go."

"What will you do?"

"What do you mean?"

"What are your plans?"

"I – I don't understand." Lan's blood froze - could Ming _know _her plans?

"Your plans about Zuko."

Lan relaxed. "I – I don't have any plans."

Ming sighed. "You _don't_ have to marry the man that the Fire Lord has chosen for you."

"Really? I don't? What should I do? Send Ozai a messenger hawk with a "thanks, but no thanks" message attached to its leg?"

"I shall write and tell him, of course." She concentrated on her stitch.

"Write the Fire Lord and tell him that I refuse to marry the man to whom he has betrothed me? He should take that well!"

"Oh, what do I care?" Ming shrugged. "We have enough money to survive should Fai lose his job."

"You may say that, and it may be true, but I think that Uncle Fai would like to keep his position. Besides, the Fire Nation needs an honest judge like Fai."

She looked at her handiwork critically. "And the Fire Nation needs a queen like you."

Lan gave a bark of laughter. "Queen?! Aunt Ming, I think that your wits have gone begging! I will never marry Zuko, and I will never be queen." She turned to look out the window again. "I never even wanted to be queen. I – I just wanted Zuko." She was silent, remembering. "Ozai told me that he would rather see me dead, and I do not doubt his word."

"So you're just going to marry an old man?"

"He's younger than you." Lan looked at her pointedly.

"Come, don't try to deflect me by insulting my age! He's twice your age." Lan turned away, and Ming continued. "We have not talked much of it, and now may be our last chance."

"Not talked much about it! It's _all _that we've talked about."

"But not in a _heartfelt_ way. We will support you, you know, should you make the reasonable decision to refuse him."

"But I am not going to, Aunt Ming. I've told you."

Ming threw down her embroidery hoop. "Don't sacrifice yourself on our altar! I know that Fai would rather beg in the streets than force you to marry a man you don't love!"

"It is lucky for him then, and _you_, that I am doing this of my free will."

Ming stood angrily. "You are a stubborn, stubborn young woman!"

"And you are a stubborn, stubborn _old_ woman!"

Ming threw up her hands with a small shriek. "Spirits preserve us from martyrs!"

Lan looked at her for a long moment. "It's my life," she said quietly, "_please _allow me the opportunity to do what I must."

Ming returned her look measuredly. "Fine, then. You will marry an old man, _alone_, and live, _alone_, separate from all you hold dear. Is that what you want?"

Lan nodded. "Yes. It is. Please understand."

Ming lifted her hands in supplication. "But I don't."

"Then please just _accept _it."

They stared at one another for a very long time, then Ming nodded, finally. "I respect you and your decision, even though I don't agree with it. So, I will let you go, even though I _loathe _the idea, with my fervent prayers and best wishes for your long, happy life."

"Thank you, Aunt Ming. You don't know how much that means to me. You – you have been more of a mother to me than anyone – more than my own mother or Aunt Su Hsing, spirits rest their souls. And your approval means more to me than _anything_."

"You will always have it. As well as a place to belong, should you ever need it."

Lan nodded stiffly. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Ming was no less stiff.

Lan closed the distance between them, and threw herself into her aunt's arms. "I love you, Aunt Ming. And I am going to miss you more than you will ever know."

Ming buried her face in Lan's shoulder. "I love you, too, my dearest girl. You saved my life. You know that, don't you?"

"I suppose we saved each other, then."

"I suppose that we did." She set Lan back from her. "I'm going to miss you, too."

"You can come visit."

Ming looked at her wisely. "I think we both know that I won't."

Lan looked into her eyes, and realized that her aunt knew. Perhaps she did not know all that Lan had done, or all that Lan was going to do, but Ming knew, perhaps through guesswork, that Lan was not going to stay in Tao Xing.

Lan nodded slowly. "We'll see each other again. I know that we will."

Ming nodded, as well, a sad smile on her face. "I can't believe how much you've grown since you came here."

"A lot has happened."

"Both good and bad." She was thinking of Lan's traumatic experience with Zhao.

"Yes." Lan, too, thought of that. "But I survived it all."

"Yes. You did. I would even say that you thrived."

Lan smiled. "Take care of Jiaonen for me."

Ming was taken aback. "Your ostrich horse? I thought that you were taking her with you. I've had the stablehands prepare her for travel."

Lan shook her head sadly. "No. I don't think I should take her with me right right now. I doubt that I'll have time to ride her for the first year. I'll send for her when I'm - set."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I would hate to transport her all that way just to ignore her and leave her in the stables." And, since Lan had little intention of staying in Tao Xing, she wanted to leave the horse with her aunt. "Will you ride her for me?"

"If you'd like."

"I would."

"Then I will. Oh, look, there's a carriage outside! I suppose that's them now."

Lan whirled to look out the window. There was indeed a carriage at the gate.

She turned to her aunt and touched her hair self-consciously. "How do I look?"

"_Very _grown-up and very beautiful."

Lan smiled. "Flatterer. I guess I'm ready. I'll go greet them."

As she hurried to the front door, she wondered how she would greet them. Should she be quiet and demure, in keeping with the role she had set herself to play onboard? Would cool courtesy towards Zuko be believable – or doable, when all she wanted to do was throw herself into his arms and cover his face with kisses? Should she greet him as she would a stranger? He _was_ a stranger now – that much was true. Both Iroh and Zuko were strangers to her.

Would he remember what they had been to each other? _Of course he'll remember; he has a __**scar**__, not __**amnesia**_, she thought. But how did he remember her? With fondness? Or with embarrassed chagrin?

When she saw Iroh alight from the carriage, all thoughts of remaining distant evaporated. She broke into a run and threw herself into his arms.

He squeezed her tightly for a long time. "My little duck," he used the nickname that Lu Ten had given her so many years before, "I've missed you."

She buried her face in his robe, drawing in his familiar scent, then lifted her face to his. "I've missed you, too, Uncle. So much."

She was pleased to see that he looked much the same as he had the last time she had seen him – gray-haired, wrinkled – a bit _rounder_ perhaps, but otherwise little changed.

"Let me look at you." He held her at arm's length. "You've become a lovely woman. So lovely."

She blushed. "You're required to say that. You're my uncle."

"Not at all. It's true. I've never told Azula that." He shivered. "Not at all," he repeated.

"Thank you, then." She looked past him. "Where's Zuko?"

A strange look passed over Iroh's face. "Ah, well, he's at the local garrison. Searching for the Avatar."

"Oh." Lan's heart fell. "Well, that's fine. Of course. When will he be joining us?"

"He won't be. He'll meet us at the ship."

Lan's face registered disappointment. "Oh. Oh, I see. Well, Aunt Ming has a nice lunch planned for us, so I guess that will mean more for us." She turned back to the house, slipping her arm through his and drawing him along with her.

"Is Fai here, as well?" Iroh asked, patting her hand.

"Yes. He's looking forward to seeing you."

"I feel the same. It has been too long since I have seen them both."

Lan squeezed Iroh's hand. "She looks quite a bit like Aunt Su Hsing."

A sad smile crossed Iroh's face. "There always was a strong resemblance between them."

They were both quiet for a long moment, remembering Iroh's wife.

A footman, standing at attention at the door, opened it for them, and they passed into the cool darkness of the house.

Ming Yi was standing when they entered the sitting room, and came forward to give Iroh a long hug. "Iroh. How wonderful it is to see you."

"Ming Yi, you look stunning."

Ming Yi bowed prettily. "Thank you, Iroh, although I think, perhaps, that you are being kind. You look well, yourself."

"Bah. I am an old man. An old man in need of tea." He sniffed the air. "Ah, ginseng. You remembered that it was my favorite."

Ming's brows rose. "My goodness, you may be old, but your sense of smell has certainly not deteriorated." She looked beyond Iroh. "Is Prince Zuko not coming in?"

Iroh colored. "Ah, well, um, as I explained to – Lan, he has gone to the garrison – to inquire about the Avatar. He'll meet us at the ship later."

"Oh, I see. Pity." She was disappointed. She would have liked to have seen the boy who had captured Lan's heart.

A maid came in at that moment, bearing a tray with tea, and Iroh rubbed his hands in delight, while Lan and Ming exchanged glances. Some things never changed.

"Please, sit." Ming indicated a thick cushion at a low table, and Iroh settled himself there.

Ming turned to Lan as she poured the tea. "Lan, dear, could you please fetch Fai while Iroh and I have a nice chat?"

Lan was not fooled. "I suppose you want to _chat _about me."

"Presumptuous," Ming said, although she said it with affection. "It's family business."

Lan gave a snort. "And _I'm_ the family." She leaned down to give her aunt and uncle a brief kiss. "I shall be back quite soon, so chat quickly." With that, she was gone.

Iroh took a sip from his cup as she left. "How is Fai?"

"Very well. Busy with the assizes, as usual. Very busy."

Iroh sipped his tea. "Work is never done. This is good tea."

Ming Yi smiled. "I blended it for you."

"Thank you."

There was a brief silence, then Iroh launched into the subject that they both wanted to discuss. "She has changed so much." Iroh looked down into his cup pensively. "No longer a child."

"No." Ming agreed. "She isn't. And it hasn't been easy. And I doubt that it will become easier."

"What do you think of this betrothal?" Iroh was cautious; he did not know his sister-in-law's mind.

"What do I think?! Need you ask?"

"You are opposed?"

"Opposed?! Yes, I should think so!"

"Is it because of her fiancé's age?"

"Among other things. I promised her that she could marry when and whom she liked, and your brother has made a liar of me." Ming bristled.

"My brother has done quite a bit for which he must answer."

"And to _whom _shall he answer?"

"Point taken." Iroh acknowledged.

"Hmm." Ming looked at him with great consideration. "And what do _you _think of this marriage?"

"I would say that it is a good match."

Ming nearly dropped her cup. "A good match?"

"Yes, for a woman fifteen years older than Lan Chi. For my niece, it is unacceptable."

"Well, we _do _agree, then."

"It appears so."

"What shall we do?"

"That depends on several factors. How does Lan Chi feel?"

"How does she feel? When she found out, she was angry – livid, actually; shocked, despondent."

"Despondent?"

Ming drew in a deep breath. "There was an – incident. While we were in the capital. Thank you for the use of your home, by the way. It was quite convenient, and, I must say that I enjoyed seeing Hua again."

"She is well, I take it?"

"Yes, quite. Although I am sure you know that."

Iroh's smile was conspiratorial. "Indeed, I do. Now, tell me about this _incident_."

Ming sighed. "A nightmare of some sort. One night, Hua found Lan sobbing in the courtyard in the middle of a downpour. Said she had seen Zuko. I thought that she had lost her mind."

Iroh shook his head sorrowfully. "She still loves Zuko."

"I would say so, yes. But that was not all that happened."

"No?"

"Once she got back to Lao Hai, she ran away. Was gone well over a week. We were beside ourselves with worry, as you can imagine."

"She's run away before, but never for so long. How did you get her back?"

"She came back on her own. She said that she had done some thinking, and that she had decided that the best thing for everyone involved was for her to go through with this marriage."

Iroh looked skeptical. "That doesn't sound like her – giving in so easily. She was always stubborn."

"I know. But she seems to have accepted it."

"Is she up to something?"

Ming raised the teacup to her lips. "I can't imagine what. If she had wanted to run away from the wedding, she could have been far away from here by now. Perhaps it is because you – and Zuko – are here."

"Perhaps. But she always let her heart rule her head."

"She does tends to act without thinking sometimes."

"Yes. Her choices have not always been sound ones."

"Sounds like someone else we know."

Iroh shrugged his shoulders. "It is a part of being young, I suppose."

"I don't recall what I was like at that age. It was too long ago."

"Impulsive. Passionate. Invincible."

"Are we talking about me, Iroh, or you?"

Iroh chuckled. "All of us."

"I am grateful that you're available to escort her. She desperately needs this time with you."

"Is it a mistake giving her time with Zuko, as well?"

"A mistake? I don't think so." Not for Ming's plans.

Iroh gave Ming an amused look. "What have you up your sleeve?"

Ming made a show of peering into her sleeve. She looked at Iroh and smiled innocently. "Nothing at all."

"They cannot make a match of it." He warned.

"Not _right_ now, they can't."

"But you think, in the future?"

Ming sighed. "Iroh, I have lived with Lan Chi for over two years, and she has never, during that entire time, shown me, in any way, that she has fallen _out _of love with Zuko – more's the pity. Her life would be quite a bit simpler if she loved someone a bit less – _royal_." She sighed again.

"The men in my family are not exactly ideal husband material."

"Present company excluded."

Iroh gave a low laugh. "I don't know if Su Hsing would have agreed with you."

"Oh, Iroh, you were a wonderful husband to my sister and a wonderful father to Lu Ten." She asserted.

"Thank you. I just wish I had been as good a father to Lan Chi. She deserved so much more."

Ming shook her head sadly. "You did what you thought best. I will not second guess you."

"I should have done things differently, Ming. I should have prevented Zuko from fighting that agni kai. Had I been strong, had I called my brother out, she and Zuko might, even now, be preparing for their own wedding. Instead, I am sending her off to marry a man old enough to be her father."

Ming looked at him, her face sad. "You can still help her."

"Yes? How?"

"Perhaps," Ming said, giving voice to her fears, "more than anything else, your role will be to help her accept that she and Zuko were not meant to be. After all, a marriage arranged by the Fire Lord cannot be undone, as you know."

Iroh drained his cup. "Yes, I know." His voice was grim.

Ming shrugged. "Well, still, it is good that you and Zuko are to escort her."

"Oh, yes?"

"I was actually leery of carrying her dowry myself. But I think that a warship might actually up to the task."

"10,000 gold pieces is indeed quite a fortune."

"And most of hers, I understand."

Iroh smiled secretively. "Not exactly."

Ming raised a brow. "Well, good. I hate to see my niece beggared by your brother."

"She isn't. I won't say, though, that it isn't quite a large chunk of her inheritance."

"Really? I would have said that it was _all _of it." She looked shrewdly at Iroh. "Come now, Iroh, I happen to know that my brother was not as wealthy as you would have us think."

"Nevertheless, the money is hers. Its source is unimportant."

"You're very generous, Iroh."

"My dear Ming, it is not generosity. Lan Chi and Zuko are my only heirs now. And I do not intend for her to _ever _be without funds of her own."

Just then, Lan and Fai came into the room, Lan's arm through her uncle's.

"Ah, Iroh. How wonderful to see you again." Fai bowed as Iroh scrambled to his feet. They clasped hands affectionately.

"The same to you." Iroh glanced affectionately at Lan Chi. "I want to thank you for taking such good care of Lan Chi for me."

"It was our pleasure."

Ming smiled at the three of them. "Shall we go into lunch?"

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Well, here we are, at the brink of Lan's reunion with Zuko! I had intended to have them meet in this chapter, but it ended up being 12,000+ words, and I decided it made more sense to split it into two chapters. But they REALLY will be reunited next chapter, and sparks will fly immediately!

Lan will also have to get to work on the plans that she has set into motion - plans that would not exactly meet with approval from Zuko. I promise you, that will be VERY interesting!

Please review so I can get to the top of the review heap in the Avatar fanfics! Thank you all so much!


	29. Chapter 29

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN _NICKELODEON'S AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER_ OR ITS CHARACTERS. I just harvest plum blossoms for Miyuki's dinner.  
**

* * *

******Author's Pre-Chapter Notes: **So, here you have it! Lan Chi's reunion with Zuko! Don't expect it to go smoothly. Thanks to bowow0708 and sunflower13 for their beta reading.

* * *

Lunch was a merry occasion; Iroh entertained them with tales of long-ago, and some of the tamer exploits of his travels with Zuko.

Lan listened raptly to every word. She could imagine Zuko in these stories, strong and handsome and brave – as she had known him two years before.

After lunch, Iroh announced that they were leaving with the tide, which was near nightfall, and that implication rushed into Lan Chi's head. She was leaving; she was _really _leaving. She might never see Ming, Fai, or Changda _ever _again.

She looked at Ming and Fai, who were talking animatedly with Iroh. They were both so dear to her.

And she had to say goodbye.

Ming noticed her face. "What's wrong, darling?"

Lan smiled sadly and shook her head. "Nothing. I was just – thinking."

Ming extended her hand. "Well, let's go take one last look around your bedroom, and make certain that you've gotten everything that you need."

Lan took her aunt's hand, and they excused themselves.

"So, do you feel ready?" Ming asked as they climbed the stairs.

"I think so. All my luggage has been loaded?"

"Darling, we needed an _entire_ wagon for your trunks and boxes."

Lan smiled indulgently. "_I'm _not the one who insisted on packing half my furniture."

"Well, don't you want to be surrounded by familiar things?"

"No. I want to _be _in familiar surroundings."

"You know that you will _always _have a place here, and that I will _always_ be on your side."

"I know, Aunt Ming. Thank you."

"I just want you to remember that. If you _ever_ have need of me, just send me a message."

Lan stopped on the stairs and gave her aunt a hug. "Thank you."

When she pulled away, there was suspicious wetness in both their eyes. "Let's go."

* * *

Lan's departure was difficult, but after many hugs and kisses and promises of letters and visits, Lan climbed into Iroh's carriage. She leaned out the window as the vehicle pulled away, waving frantically at Ming, Fai, Changda, and the rest of the household staff.

After they were out of sight of the house, she settled back against the cushions, wiping tears from her eyes.

Iroh watched her with fondness. "I'm so happy that I could accompany you to Tao Xing."

She nodded, and composed herself. "I'm grateful that you can. But how did you get permission from Ozai?"

"I didn't."

Her eyes opened wide. "R – really? He doesn't know?"

"No need."

"But didn't he – forbid me from being anywhere _near _Zuko?"

"It's a moot point. He was concerned about Zuko marrying you, and obviously you are no longer available."

"No." She turned to look out the window. "I'm not."

There was silence for a long moment, before Iroh spoke. "Fai told me that you have been a great help to him in his work."

"That was kind of him. All I did was _write_."

"And I understand that you traveled with him throughout the Earth Kingdom."

"Yes."

"Did you enjoy it?"

She looked at him levelly. "It was very educational."

Iroh watched her for a long moment as she gazed out the window again.

"You're angry with me."

She drew a deep breath, although she did not look at him. "I _was_ very angry with you, Uncle Iroh. After you left me. Again."

Iroh looked abashed. "I am sorry that I could not take you with me. Zuko –"

"Needed you. I know."

"I want you to understand why I did it, Lan."

"I know why you did it. Because Zuko is going to be the next Fire Lord. And because Zuko is your nephew – your blood."

Iroh frowned. "No. That's not it, Lan. Not at all. You -" he struggled to find the right word, "are stronger than Zuko. You always have been."

She shook her head and looked down at her hands. "No." She looked at him. "You're wrong. I'm not. I'm not strong. I missed you more than you could ever know. I needed you as much as Zuko did. But you chose Zuko. I understand. But it didn't make it easier."

Iroh put his hand over hers. "You _are_ strong. You might think that you are not, but you are. You have survived despite everything that has happened to you. No matter what has befallen you, you have gone forward."

Tears formed in her eyes again. "Because I didn't have a choice."

"And that's what makes you strong."

She sighed. "I don't feel strong."

"But you are. You are your father's daughter. Remember that. Never forget who you are."

"I haven't."

"Ozai underestimates you – your resilience. He thought to break you by sending you to the Academy, but you didn't."

"I bent, though, didn't I?" She gave a half smile.

Iroh smiled back. "But you will _never_ break."

"He wants me out of his life – out of Zuko's life, permanently."

"I am so sorry that he did this to you, Lan. You should not be forced to marry someone you have never met. It is not what I wanted for you."

"What we want and what we get are two different things." She looked out the window again.

"If I could change it, I would."

"But you can't. No one can. What the Fire Lord has decreed must come to pass."

"Yes. But you _will_ survive."

She laid her head against the cushions, silent, and then allowed it to roll to the side, and looked at Iroh. "Uncle," she said, finally, "Ozai knew that Zuko planned to marry me."

His gaze was unblinking. "Yes. I know."

She looked at him steadily. "I never told anyone."

"Nor did I."

She was silent again for a moment. "Do you suppose Zuko did?"

"Possibly."

She looked out the window again. "I think he may have told Azula. She said something to me at the palace once. She knew."

Iroh mulled this over for a moment before speaking. "Then it was unwise for Zuko to confide in his sister."

She sighed. "He wouldn't be the first to be victimized by Azula. And surely not the last."

"No." He had something else to say to her before they reached port, and he did not know how to start. "I'm sorry that Zuko did not come with me."

"I doubt he considers fetching me a top priority. I'm an unwanted passenger – an unwanted memory."

"It's true that the only priority Zuko has now is catching the Avatar."

"Chasing the wind."

"It is indeed a pity. Still, I'm glad that he's not here. I wanted to talk to you alone before you saw him."

"Why?"

Iroh frowned. "Zuko is not the boy you once knew. He is much changed."

"I know. The scar."

"Well, yes, the scar. It's quite – jarring. It covers much of his face. But that's not really what I meant."

"What did you mean, then?"

"He's – bitter…and angry. He feels cheated by life. I have tried to temper that side of his personality, but I am afraid I have not succeeded."

"Uncle Iroh, do you really blame him? He's had everything taken away from him." She looked out the window again. "I understand how he feels. It's – paralyzing.""

Do you feel the same for him – as you used to?"

It was time for her to begin her charade. "Am I in love with him? No. I don't think that I ever was. I was in love with the thought that someone found _me_ worthy of love."

Iroh was skeptical. "You once told me you had been in love with him for as long as you could remember."

She blushed at that memory. "Even if I was, all that has changed. I'm not twelve – or fourteen – and I'm engaged to someone else now. Anything I felt for Zuko is long gone."

"Your aunt told me about what happened."

Thinking that he was referring to Zhao's attack on her, her pulse jumped. "Wh – what?"

"The incident at the palace." At her blank look, he continued. "You thought you saw Zuko."

She was relieved. "Oh, that. I was – half asleep. And I was also – distraught. I had just come from seeing Ozai. I was upset. I thought I saw something, but I didn't. Nothing was there. It was – nothing."

"Will you be – uncomfortable seeing Zuko again?"

She looked out the window again. "Don't be silly. Everything that happened was a long time ago." She turned back to him with an overly bright smile. "I'll be fine."

Iroh was silent. Lan and Zuko were very similar. Their words had even echoed the other's. He hoped he had not made the wrong decision, throwing them together like this.

* * *

"Prince Zuko, General Iroh has returned."

Zuko laid down the directional instrument he had been using to plot their course. "Thank you, Lieutenant." He stood and straightened his uniform. He had been expecting his uncle and Lan Chi for over two hours – they were late, and he had intended to leave with the tide. They would have to hurry if the ship were to leave port today.

As usual, the garrison had been unable to provide any information on the Avatar's whereabouts, and, since Lao Hai was surrounded by flat farmlands with few places that a man could hide for a hundred years, he felt comfortable leaving the countryside unexplored.

He strode onto the deck and over to the railing facing the dock. His uncle had alighted from his carriage, and extended his hand into the cab. Zuko saw a slender hand take his uncle's, and Lan Chi emerged from the interior.

_Red hair_. He remembered, suddenly, how he had run his fingers through it, those nights so long ago. He watched as she smiled at Iroh and said something that caused him to laugh. Zuko stepped back from the railing as they walked to the gangplank. He did not want it to appear as if he had been spying, or worse, _waiting_.

As she crossed onto the ship, Zuko got his first good glimpse of her. She had changed – so much. She was taller, of course, and she was no longer a girl. Her shape had filled out quite nicely, and the traveling robe she wore emphasized those new curves very well. She wore her hair up, held in place with a formal headdress. Her face was thinner than he remembered, but her smile was the same. By the spirits, she was more beautiful than he had remembered!

He pushed those thoughts away. The time for them was past. He was a different person; so was she. And, besides, she was to be married to another man in less than two months' time.

When Lan Chi caught sight of Zuko, she drew her breath in sharply. Iroh had warned her of the changes, and she had steeled herself, but she was unprepared for the man she saw. He _was_ a man now – gone was the boy she had loved. He was at least a head and a half taller than Iroh, and therefore much taller than she. He was very muscular and broad chested. Even beneath the concealing uniform, that was obvious. He also held himself now with an aloofness and a formality that had been missing from the younger Zuko, and she knew that was one of the changes Iroh had mentioned – a change in his entire demeanor.

The scar – she had definitely not been prepared for that. It started almost at the bridge of his nose and covered the entire area around his left eye. It stretched back over his ear, and up onto his scalp. The eye was just a slit, and, even from this distance, she could see there was no eyebrow. Her heart broke for him. His beautiful face, ruined. She hated Ozai more in that moment more than she had ever thought it possible to hate someone.

"Don't let him see it." Iroh whispered to her.

She gave an imperceptible nod and continued towards her host. She noted that he wore his head shaved now, which was startling, but what was left of his hair was long and tied with a cord, swinging freely behind him in the breeze. She remembered his luxuriant, shining hair, and felt another stab of pain.

She and Iroh stopped in front of Zuko, who watched her with a stony expression.

"Prince Zuko," Iroh presented her to him, "you remember my niece, Lady Lan Chi Sun."

They would put on a show in front of the crew. "Of course, Uncle." He bowed to her. "Lady Lan Chi, how are you?" His voice, she noted, was rough and silky at the same time. Very disconcerting.

She bowed deeply, lowering her eyes to the deck. "Quite well, thank you, Your Highness. And yourself?"

She cursed the words as they came from her mouth. _How was he_? Burned, banished, disowned.

The same thoughts came to Zuko's mind. _How do I __**look**_? He was tempted to ask her. "Fine, thank you, Lady Lan Chi."

She swallowed audibly. "It has been quite a long time, Your Highness." _Shut up, Lan Chi_, she admonished herself. _Just shut up_!

His eyes narrowed. "Yes. The last time I saw you, I think I had _two_ good eyes."

She flushed, but she was angry at the same time. He was trying to discomfit her. "And hair, Your Highness."

A snicker came from Iroh, and Zuko shot him a dark look. "Yes. Things change. I understand felicitations are in order on your upcoming marriage."

_Felicitations_. The same word Azula had used when mockingly congratulating Lan on her marriage. Did he feel the same as Azula? Hating her, resenting her, wishing her gone? She did not want to believe it of Zuko.

She was probably overreacting. Still, her words in response were cool. "Thank you, Your Highness." She turned to Iroh. "Uncle Iroh, I feel very fatigued. Would it be possible for me to retire to my chamber?"

Zuko took the hint. This conversation was at an end.

"Of course, my dear." Iroh smiled. "How remiss of me. Prince Zuko, could you please escort Lady Lan Chi to her cabin while I see to the loading of her _rather considerable_ amount of luggage." His eyes wandered to where Zuko's men were struggling up the gangplank under the weight of a massive trunk. Several similar pieces still waited on the dock.

Zuko and Lan both simultaneously called the older man's name, and then looked at each other in surprise. Lan recovered first.

"Uncle Iroh, I am certain that I can find my cabin on my own, if you'll just tell me where it is."

"Uncle, I have to get the ship ready for departure." Zuko put in.

"Nonsense." His words were for both. "Prince Zuko, Lieutenant Jee is more than capable of preparing the ship for departure. Lieutenant Jee!" He called. Jee appeared immediately at the railing of the upper deck.

"Yes, General Iroh?"

"Could you please prepare for departure?"

Jee saluted. "Yes, Sir."

Zuko was fuming. "Uncle, I haven't even decided the route we're taking."

"Prince Zuko, Tao Xing is on the other side of the continent. We will have to go south, unless you want to travel up near the North Pole."

"No," he said sullenly.

"I'll tell Jee to go south."

"But, Uncle Iroh," Lan was almost pleading, "I don't want to take Prince Zuko away from his duties. Really, I can –"

"Prince Zuko's duty is to make you feel welcome on the ship! Isn't that right, nephew?" Iroh said brightly.

Zuko's arms were crossed on his chest, a sure sign to Iroh that his nephew was peeved. "Yes, Uncle," he said through clenched teeth. "I will certainly make her feel welcome." He turned to Lan. "Lady Lan Chi, this way, if you please." He indicated that she should move forward. He shot his uncle a murderous glance, but Iroh seemed, to him, oblivious.

"Good boy, Zuko! I will oversee everything up here. Not to worry."

"Thank you." Zuko growled.

Lan Chi looked from one man to the other, and with an inaudible sigh and a slumping of her shoulders in defeat, she turned in the direction that Zuko indicated.

Iroh rushed to the men staggering across the deck. "Be careful with that trunk, men! It is a family heirloom!"

Zuko walked next to Lan, disapproval emanating from him like heat. Or perhaps it _was_ heat. Lan looked at him curiously. The body temperature of firebenders often rose when they were angry, but no firebenders of her acquaintance had ever done so in her presence. It was considered impolite. "Is it getting hotter, Highness?"

Zuko threw her a hostile look. "I don't feel anything." But he consciously began to lower his body temperature.

"My mistake." She said, although, looking in her eyes, he knew that she was aware of his lapse.

He opened the door to the interior of the ship, and motioned for her to pass through before him. She lifted her leg to step over the high threshold, and Zuko followed. She noted that he had to stoop quite a bit.

"You've gotten very tall." She wished she could clamp her hand over her mouth. What had happened to her vow of remaining aloof from Zuko? She _had_ to stay distant, for her own safety. And here she was, commenting on his height, as if they were the greatest of friends.

He gave her a level look. "And you haven't, Cousin."

She blushed as they walked, single file, through the narrow corridor. "You remember that. How silly."

He drew himself up stiffly and stopped. "_I'm_ silly?"

She dipped her head and continued walking. "No. I am. A little orphan girl with no family, wanting cousins, wanting a _family_, and deciding that she wanted to be a part of _your_ family."

He followed her. "It's not silly." He said quietly. "You are my family."

She turned and looked at him. How perplexing he was. An angry and bitter stranger, but there were still hints of the Zuko that she had known.

"Here is your cabin." They had stopped in front of a door.

He swung it open to reveal a large cabin, with a bank of windows on one side hung with red silk curtains. There was a bureau and a small desk, and a sleeping mat. Of course, the walls and floor were bare metal panels, so, despite the richness of the drapery, the room still looked a bit like a cell.

Zuko stepped over the threshold. "I hope this is comfortable for you." He indicated a door on the left. "That's a, um, private bath. Uncle Iroh insisted that we convert the closet next to this room for your use, and open a door between the two."

She walked across the room and opened the door. This was a windowless room, too dark to see. Zuko came up behind her, and bringing forth a small flame, he threw it to the lanterns on the wall. Light licked around the room, and Lan could see there was a vanity and a chamber chair, and a large, claw-footed tub.

Zuko cleared his throat. "Uncle thought it improper to share a bath with the crew. _ I mean a bathroom_," he corrected with alacrity. "And I, um, I agree."

A small smile came to Lan's face. This was an unexpected luxury. "Thank you, Your Highness. This is very thoughtful."

Zuko bristled. "Well, thank Uncle! It was not my idea."

"I will." She said, without heat. She returned to the main chamber, and Zuko followed.

She turned to him, her hands folded primly in front of her. "I wanted to thank you, Your Highness, for escorting me to Tao Xing, and for allowing me to travel on your ship. I am very appreciative."

"There is no need to thank me. It is – it is my pleasure." She could have sworn he blushed.

"Still, thank you."

"Yes, well, um, you're welcome. And welcome aboard." With that, he turned and nearly ran from the room.

She looked thoughtfully at the empty spot where he had been standing, and closed the door behind him.

* * *

Zuko started for the bridge. _Stupid, stupid_! He hit himself on the forehead with his palm. _Improper to share a bath with the crew_. Brilliant. He certainly had a way with words. How embarrassing! Maybe he could avoid her until they reached Tao Xing. For six weeks? He doubted it.

This really was going to be a _very long_ voyage.

He came to the door out to the deck, but stopped when two of his crewmen entered the narrow hallway with one of Lan's trunks. He was blocked in. He sighed, and backed up all the way to his cousin's door as the crewmen lurched down the corridor with their burden. He knocked on Lan's door, and she opened it.

"Your trunk."

"Thank you, Your Highness." She moved out of the way so that the men could pass into her room. "And thank you, gentlemen."

One of the sailors pulled at a forelock of hair as a sign of respect, and the other bowed. Zuko watched as they left the room, and followed suit. "I'll leave you to your unpacking, Lady Lan Chi."

She closed and locked the door behind him. She was dying to get out of the uncomfortable traveling robe she was wearing, and take her hair down. The bian fang was giving her a gigantic headache. She pulled pins out of her hair, allowed it to fall down around her face, and ran her fingers through it until it untangled.

She untied her robe, threw it aside, and unwound her breast bindings. She wished, suddenly, for Changda's presence, but realized that she would be on her own from now on. In more ways than simply dressing.

She threw open the trunk that the men had brought, and rifled through it until she found one of her new silk lounging robes to put on. It was a deep, jade green edged in gold, and she loved it.

She ran her fingers over the smooth, cool material, and lamented that the only person who might enjoy it would be her unknown, unwanted fiancé.

Well, this was the plan that she had decided upon, and she was going through with it. Even if she hated it.

* * *

Zuko climbed onto the bridge, intending to consult with Lieutenant Jee on the best route to take to Tao Xing. Although Zuko privately agreed with his uncle that they must go around the southern tip of the Earth Kingdom, he wanted to show his uncle that he made his own decisions. He would not be led or told what to do.

He found, however, not only Jee, but Iroh, as well, "Prince Zuko, I'm glad you're here." Iroh smiled. "Could you do a favor for me?"

Zuko's eyes narrowed. "What is it now?"

He indicated a mid-sized wooden box. "This small trunk was in among the larger ones, and I believe it has Lan Chi's personal items."

"So?"

"Could you please take it to her?"

"Why can't you take it to her?"

"I've just set my tea to steep. I don't want it to get too strong, you know."

"Then send one of the men."

"I think it best we also make certain that she is comfortable."

"I was _just_ there! I have work to do!"

"Work? Jee has everything under control."

"I need to plot the course."

"Plot the course? Zuko, we have already decided that we are going south, and, unless you intend to go overland, there is only one course to take."

Zuko gave him a dark look. "Uncle…" he began.

"Thank you, Prince Zuko. I find it so hard, some days, to get up and down that ladder."

Zuko snatched the chest up and stomped from the room.

"Such an obliging young man," Iroh smiled.

Zuko swore to himself as he descended the ladder.

"Lazy old man," he grumbled. "I have things to do. I am _not_ an errand boy."

He grumbled all the way to Lan Chi's cabin, and rapped sharply on her door.

"One moment!" She opened the door a few seconds later.

Zuko couldn't help but stare. She looked so different from before. Her hair was down, loose around her shoulders, and she was wearing a deceptively simple green robe that clung to her body in sinful ways. Without bidding it, he saw himself, in his mind, pressing her against a wall and kissing her.

"Oh, you brought my chest! Thank you, Your Highness." She bowed, and the robe gaped a little.

Zuko made a gurgling noise. "Lan, you cannot answer the door dressed like that." He did not notice slipping into the use of her informal name.

"What?" She was puzzled.

His discomfort stemmed from his dishonorable thoughts, and he spoke angrily. "You're on a ship filled with sailors! You cannot flaunt yourself like this, with your hair down, and wearing a robe like that! It's not – decent!"

She self-consciously pulled her hair over one shoulder and tried to smooth it out. "I – I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be a temptation, or flaunt anything."

Zuko bristled. "A temptation? You aren't a temptation to me," he denied hotly. "But you're on board with men – desperate men! I can't let you traipse about the boat dressed like that."

"I'm in my room, Zuko." She dropped his title, too. "That's hardly _traipsing_."

"Well, you can't answer the door that way! And you didn't even ask who it was before you opened it."

She was angry now, too. "I'm sorry; I was under the impression that I was safe on this ship; that you have control over your men. Was I wrong?"

He did not like the slight to his command. "I do have control over my men!"

"Then there shouldn't be any trouble! No matter how _desperate_ the men may be!" She slammed the door in his face.

Outraged, he banged on the door with his fist. "Open this door immediately! You do not slam the door in _my_ face on _my_ ship!"

The door opened, and her hands snaked out and grabbed the chest from him. The door slammed again.

He stamped a foot. "Fine! Be that way! But I will not see you dressed like that again! Do you understand me?"

There was no response from the occupant of the room, and Zuko thundered away. He went directly to his uncle, who was enjoying his tea on the bridge. "I have to talk to you."

Iroh spread his hands expansively. "Sit down, Prince Zuko. You seem upset. Would you like some tea?"

"No, I would not like some _tea_! I need to talk to you about your niece right now!" The other men on the bridge turned to look at him. "In private," he said between clenched teeth.

"Of course, of course." Iroh lifted himself off the floor with a grunt, and followed Zuko from the room. Zuko went to the railing and stared out at the port receding in the distance.

"So what seems to be the problem with Lan?" Iroh asked guilelessly.

"I'm worried about her effect on the crew."

"What effect on the crew?"

He whirled to look at the older man. "Uncle, you cannot put a beautiful woman on a ship with two dozen men, and not expect there to be an effect!"

Iroh stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Yes, I suppose Lan has become a beautiful woman," he began.

"What?"

"I said, 'yes, Lan is beautiful.' You're right."

Zuko blushed at his own slip. "I did not say that! Well, I did say that, but I didn't mean it! What I meant to say is you can't have any woman on a ship, even an ugly, shrewish one, and not expect there to be problems with the crew!"

Iroh gave him a knowing look. "What kind of problems are we talking about, Prince Zuko?"

"Men looking at her! Desiring her! " At his uncle's blank stare, he threw up his arms. "You know what I mean!"

"I don't know how we would prevent anyone from desiring her, Zuko. The men can desire anyone that they like. They cannot act on it, of course."

Zuko was silent for a long moment, thinking. "Gather all the men together, Uncle. I want to address them."

"Zuko, you cannot be thinking –" He was cut off.

"On the deck in a half hour, Uncle. And make sure Lan Chi is there, as well. I think we should introduce her to the crew – formally."

* * *

Lan Chi regretted yelling at Zuko and slamming the door in his face almost immediately. She had resolved to be as unobtrusive as possible on this voyage, and she had already broken that resolution. But he was so infuriating – suggesting that she was being intentionally provocative! Idiot!

Lan began haphazardly pulling clothes out of her trunk and throwing them into drawers, not caring if they were jumbled together or wrinkled. Stupid prince! Stupid girl to aggravate him!

A knock at the door stopped her silent ranting. "Who is it?" she called out. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. It had better not be Zuko again!

"Lan, it is Iroh."

Relieved, she opened the door. "Come in, Uncle."

He came into the room. Clothes were everywhere. "It seems like you have been very busy."

"But not productive," she sighed. "Are you here because of what happened with Zuko?"

"Would you like to tell me what happened?"

"No. He can tell you."

"He did."

"I suppose he said I was parading myself half-naked."

"No, he never said that."

"Well, good. I wasn't. I was dressed exactly like this." She indicated her robe and her hair, still down. "Is this revealing?"

"It depends what you are intending to reveal."

"Are you agreeing with him?!" She was indignant.

"No, of course not. What I mean is that you are an attractive woman. What you're wearing reveals that fact. It certainly doesn't hide it."

"He accused me of flaunting myself! He actually used the word _flaunting_! And then he said that the men would have to be desperate to look at me."

"I'm sure he didn't mean that." Despite himself, Iroh began to laugh.

"It's not funny!"

"Lan, you have to understand that Zuko is – well, not used to dealing with women. He has lived on this ship for over two years. We're all men. He has no idea how to talk with a woman, or how to act around one. His time with you was long ago, after all."

She blushed, but remained on the subject. "That doesn't give him the right to accuse me of trying to be alluring."

Iroh laughed again. "My dear, you are alluring whether you try to be or not."

"Thank you." She looked bewildered. "I think. Wait, were you agreeing with him again?"

Iroh patted her arm. "I am certain that you were not trying to appear enticing in any way."

She appeared mollified. "Thank you. Would you like to sit down? I can clear a spot – somewhere."

"No, little duck. I have come to warn you, actually, that Prince Zuko intends to have a word with the crew. And he'd like you to be there."

"A word with the crew about what?" She almost didn't want to hear the answer.

"He wants to introduce you."

"To the crew?"

"Yes."

She put her face in her hands. So much for keeping a low profile. She sneaked a look at Iroh. "What if I didn't show up?"

"He'd probably come and fetch you himself."

"Wonderful." She groaned. "Can't you talk him out of it?"

"Zuko takes the leadership of his crew very seriously."

She sighed, defeated. "I suppose I'll put on my most unattractive clothing and go to his little talk."

"That might be best."

* * *

A half hour later, Lan reluctantly left her room. She had bound her breasts as tightly as possible, put on a severe, high-necked robe in a bilious green, pulled her hair back, and had replaced the headdress, albeit, because she had no Changda, rather sloppily. She tried to appear appropriately demure and as unappealing as possible as she made her way to the deck.

The men were assembling, and Iroh was already there. He took her hand, and smiled. "Zuko has assured me he simply wants to introduce you to the crew, my dear. All will be well. And may I say that robe is well chosen? I have rarely seen anything more hideous."

"Thank you, Uncle."

Zuko arrived, looking more stern than usual. "Lady Lan Chi," he nodded in acknowledgment.

"Your Highness," She bowed.

After the last man fell in, Zuko began addressing them. "As you are all aware, we have a guest aboard our ship." He stopped and bowed to Lan. "This is Lady Lan Chi Sun."

All the men bowed in her direction. She smiled and gave a small bow in response.

He turned back to his men. "We have sworn to escort Lady Lan Chi safely to the city of Tao Xing, where she is to be married. You may know that she is the niece of my uncle, General Iroh. She is also, therefore, my cousin, and under my protection." His eyes narrowed. "So, if I so much as see any of you looking at her with anything other than the utmost respect and deference, your punishment will be swift and severe. You will be confined to the brig until we reach the next port of call, where you will be put off the ship, stripped of all rank and commission, and left to find your way back to the Fire Nation on your own." He waited a moment for his words to sink in. "Do I make myself clear?"

In unison, the men replied, "Yes, Sir, Prince Zuko, Sir!"

"Dismissed."

Zuko turned to his uncle as the men dispersed. "That should take care of our problem."

"Don't you think that was excessive, Prince Zuko?" Iroh asked carefully.

"Not at all." He turned to Lan, who had flushed a deep red during his lecture. "Lady Lan Chi." He nodded to her. "Good day." He bowed and walked off.

Lan watched him leave. "That was one of the most embarrassing incidents of my entire life."

"Only _one _of the most embarrassing incidents?"

She looked at him. "You forget that the Fire Lord found me in Zuko's bed once."

"I'm so sorry that he overreacted."

"Ozai or Zuko?"

"Both. But, more recently, Zuko."

"I don't know if I can ever show my face to the crew."

"Don't worry. I'm sure that they will forget all about it before long."

"I doubt it." She watched him as he climbed the ladder to the bridge. "I need to speak to him." She started to follow Zuko, but Iroh stayed her.

"You must understand that Zuko takes his responsibilities very seriously, and I am certain he felt he was doing the right thing."

"Uncle Iroh, when I accepted your escort, I promised myself that I would be as unobtrusive as possible so that my presence would not interfere with the running of this ship. Prince Zuko has made that impossible."

"And you think you should speak to him about it?"

"Yes, before he decides that all the men should leave the room when I enter." She walked off without another word, determined to speak to her cousin.

She followed Zuko up the ladder.

"What are you doing?" He asked when she reached the top.

They were alone. Good. What she had to say was for his ears only. "I want a word with you."

"You just climbed a very dangerous ladder, wearing a dress." He frowned at her.

"I survived."

"You've made a spectacle of yourself – again! How do you expect the men to leave you alone if you are determined to continually do things that draw attention to yourself?"

"_I_ don't expect them to, Zuko. You expect them to. I didn't ask you to give them a lecture on propriety. You did that on your own. Why?"

"I just want you to be safe."

"I _am_ safe. And I can take care of myself. I have been doing so for a long time – long before I set foot on this ship. I traveled with Uncle Fai for almost two years, all around the colonies. I can defend myself." She poked him in the chest with her forefinger. "I don't need you to take care of me."

He grabbed her finger, and flung it off. "You are my responsibility while you are on this ship."

Her eyes narrowed. "I appreciate your concern, Your Highness, but it is misplaced."

He grabbed her arm, and pulled her closer. "You will do as I say while you are on my ship. Do you understand me?"

She fumed at his words. "Then let me off at the next port. I am not your possession, nor am I a slave."

"You would know respect if you were."

"Get your hand off me." She said from between clenched teeth.

He dropped her arm as if it burned him. "We are escorting you to Tao Xing. I gave my word to Uncle." He turned away. "This conversation is at an end."

She gave a grunt of frustration and started back down the ladder.

"I am only doing what I think is best for you." His words were unexpected.

Her anger fled, and she stopped her descent. "I appreciate that, Zuko. But please let me decide what is best for me."

"This marriage." His voice was soft, and he did not face her. "Have you decided that it's best for you?"

She looked away from him, as well. "I have decided that it is unavoidable." She climbed down the ladder, leaving him staring out at the sea.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Well, there you have it! A reunion six months in the making (I first posted the fic in August, 2012, and it's now January, 2013)! I hope that you enjoyed it! They didn't fall into each other's arms immediately, unfortunately, but, as you know, Zuko, for one, is not exactly at one with his feelings!

Please review so that I can reach my goal of being among the most reviewed Avatar stories!

Thank you so much for reading!


	30. Chapter 30

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN _NICKELODEON'S AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER_ OR ITS CHARACTERS. I just hang around tumblr waiting for news on season 2 of Korra! ; )  
**

* * *

**Author's Notes:** This has been a hard week for me - creatively. On Monday, 1/28/13, I found out that my other passion, _Young Justice_, on Cartoon Network, has NOT been renewed for a third season. That sent me into a tailspin, and I have been feverishly working, with other DC Nation/YJ/Green Lantern fans to save the shows. If you are interested in saving these shows, as well, go on to tumblr and find me. My blog is sea-dilemma (how original!). We have a real chance to save the show - and Cartoon Network has already acknowledged out efforts, which is a good first step!

Anyway, back to Lan Chi and Zuko. Thanks to my betareaders, bowow0708 and sunflowwer13, even when they say something that I don't like! ;)

* * *

Lan returned to her cabin after her discussion with Zuko, her legs so weak that she had to hold onto the wall in the corridor.

The man that she had just spoken with – that was Zuko – _her _Zuko. Quiet, considerate, concerned.

It was not the man she had met earlier – caustic and hardened.

The man she had just spoken to would not be easily resisted – at least not by her.

And resist him she must. She could not jeopardize her mission – she had to remain distant and focused. She could not become distracted by him.

She must not.

She closed her cabin door behind her and looked around. She was here – she was _actually _here, with Iroh and Zuko, after two long years. It was all she ever wanted.

_Not quite_, her mind spoke up. _You wanted to marry Zuko. You wanted to spend the rest of your life with him_.

And she wouldn't.

She shook her head free of the thought. She was already becoming distracted.

She walked over to the armoire that she had brought from Aunt Ming's house. It was a family heirloom that she had chosen to bring with her, but it was also a piece of furniture that she and Changda had spent several hours modifying. Lan had chosen it because it boasted a deep lower drawer, and, with a bit of wood, she and the maid had created a false bottom in which Lan Chi could conceal things. Right now there was nothing in it other than her bow and a quiver of arrows,

She did not intend for it to be empty for long.

* * *

She spent a quiet afternoon settling herself, and, that evening, Uncle Iroh came by to escort her to dinner.

Lan looked at him with uncertainty. "Perhaps I should eat dinner here, Uncle. I doubt Zuko wants me spoiling his appetite."

"Ahhh. Your talk with him did not go well."

"To say the least. He called me disrespectful, and I told him I wanted to leave the ship at the next port."

"I'm certain he knew that you weren't serious."

"I _was_ serious."

"You want to be let off at the next port?"

Her shoulders slumped. "No. I just want –" she sighed with exasperation, "I'm an adult, Uncle, and for Zuko to treat me like a child is – well, it's _unacceptable_."

"You do not understand Zuko."

She looked down at her hands. "I thought that I did understand him – once."

"He has not changed _so_ much, Lan. His sense of honor, his sense of duty – those remain. And if he believes that it is his duty to protect you, he cannot rest until he has assured himself that you are safe."

She threw her hands up. "But I _am_ safe! I can take care of myself! I don't need his babysitting!"

"Give him time to realize that."

She threw up her hands. "Fine. I'll give him time. But he cannot keep me under glass."

He patted her hand. "He knows that."

They walked to the galley, where Zuko was waiting, drumming the table with his fingers. He jumped to his feet when they entered.

"Uncle Iroh, Lady Lan Chi," he bowed.

"Your Highness," she bowed in response.

They settled at the table, and served themselves from the dishes there.

Lan cleared her throat. "Your Highness, I would like to – apologize for my words earlier. I was ungrateful and inflexible. I'm sorry."

Zuko held up one hand. "I overreacted."

"Thank you." She smiled.

Iroh looked at them both approvingly.

Silence fell, and Lan lowered her head to eat. She stole a look at Zuko, who also seemed extraordinarily interested in his noodles. She watched him surreptitiously as he ate – she could see, in the unguarded Zuko, shades of the thirteen-year-old that he had been, in his mannerisms and demeanor. However, upon catching Lan staring, he colored and stiffened, and she was denied any further chance to study an unguarded Zuko.

The rest of the meal passed smoothly enough, although there was mostly awkward quiet. The cook came into the room to clear away the dishes, and Lan Chi smiled up at the man.

"Thank you." She handed him her bowl. "The noodles were delicious. Did you make them yourself, or were they dried?"

He beamed back at her. "Oh, my lady, homemade, of course! Fresh eggs are the secret." He winked at her.

"Oh, do you have chickens aboard?" She was delighted. She had thought that the next six weeks would be one fish or salted meat dish after another.

"Indeed, my lady, three chickens. However, we used to have four – that is, until Taxiao got her claws into it."

Lan looked at Iroh. "Taxiao? What's a Taxiao?"

Zuko, who had been silent, spoke up. "My puma-cat. She's a ratter."

"And a chicken-er." Iroh smiled.

Without thinking, Lan clapped her hands in delight. "A cat! You have a cat! How sweet!"

Zuko's face turned very ruddy. "She's not _sweet_! She's a _working_ cat!"

"Oh, she is a bit sweet, Zuko." This came from Iroh.

"Can I see her?" Lan, forgetting her resolution to remain aloof, gave her cousin a huge smile.

Iroh frowned. "She's usually here at dinner. Have you seen her, Zuko?"

Zuko, whose eyes were riveted on Lan Chi's face, blushed for a third time. "She's in my cabin, I think."

"Ah, well, you'll see her _all _over the ship." Iroh popped to his feet. "I think Lan Chi's first night on board calls for a celebration. I have a very special tea blend in my cabin. Let me go and get it, and we will share a pot." He turned to the cook. "Could you please boil some water and fill my teapot?"

The man bowed, left the room, and Iroh, with a twinkle in his eye, followed, and Lan and Zuko were left alone. They sat in comparative silence, stealing glances at each other, until Lan felt compelled to speak. She cleared her throat. "Thank you again, Your Highness, for escorting me to Tao Xing. It means a lot – to me – to be able to spend this time with Uncle."

Zuko stared down at the table. "Please, call me Zuko." He lifted his face to her, his eyes intense.

Her eyes widened. "Z – Zuko?"

"Yes. Like –" he ducked his head, "before."

She blushed. She remembered sighing his name in passion as he had covered her face with kisses. Breathing his name against his lips. "I am honored, Your – Zuko." She corrected herself. "And call me Lan. You always used to."

"Yes, I did." He hesitated. "When we were young."

"We're not so old now, are we?" She attempted levity.

"Older." His voice was sad.

All attempts to lighten his mood disappeared. "But not wiser?"

"I'm not certain. Perhaps just older." He stood suddenly. "Please tell my uncle that I – have much to do, and that I do not care for tea. Good night, Lan."

He left, and she was left staring at the spot a stranger had just vacated.

* * *

For the second time that day, as he stomped to his cabin, Zuko berated himself for his reaction to Lan Chi. "Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid. _Call me Zuko_!" He mocked himself. "Why can't you just keep your mouth _shut_?" he mumbled. "Spirits, she's not _yours_, you idiot! Stay away from her. Just get through this six weeks."

He opened the door to his room and Taxiao darted out, happy to finally be free. Zuko watched as she streaked out of sight, and he closed the door behind him. The summer evening sun was slanting through his windows, and he moved to stand in it.

As usual, as the sun's warmth surged through him, his mood mediated, and he felt a calmness come over him. He could do this – he could get through the next six weeks – without making a fool out of himself.

Couldn't he?

* * *

When Lan Chi awoke the next morning, she was confused for a moment, until memory returned.

She smiled for a long moment, then stretched. She might be on her way to be married to a man she had never met but, right _now_, she was with _Zuko_, and, even though she had to leave him in six weeks, no one would ever be able to take this time away from her.

She got up and dressed in a blue silk robe, although she refused to wear the bian fang – propriety be damned. Instead, she braided her hair, as she always did when she was at home, and left her cabin.

She came out of her cabin and looked both directions. Was the deck to the _left_ or to the _right_? She decided to try the right, and, after winding through several corridors, realized that the door to the deck must have been the other direction.

She debated retracing her steps, but came to a ladder, and deciding to try her luck on the deck above, began to ascend. After all, by climbing a ladder, sooner or later, she would reach _one _of the decks.

Six ladders later, she popped her head through an open hatch, and into the ship's bridge.

Zuko and several members of the his crew were there, and, although she considered a retreat, she realized that she could not spend the next six weeks lost on the ship.

She pulled herself through the hatch and stood.

"Good morning, Your Highness. Gentlemen."

Zuko jumped, and turned around, his face red. "What are you doing here?"

She blinked, taken aback by his rudeness. "I was – _am_ – lost."

The other men in the room smiled at her, but Zuko frowned. "Where are you trying to go?"

"Oh. I – I guess the deck – although I had hoped to find Uncle, too."

"He's on the main deck playing dominoes."

"Oh. That's fine – then. I'll just go back down here, and..." She trailed off. She had no idea how to get to the main deck.

Zuko sighed. He should send her with one of the men, but he wasn't sure that they were to be trusted with her. "I – I'll take you down."

She smiled at him widely. "Thank you, Your Highness."

He indicated that she should precede him down the ladder, and he followed her. He tried not to notice, as she passed him to descend, that her hair was shiny, or that she looked regal in blue. He tried not to notice the smattering of freckles on her cheek, or the paleness of her skin – skin that seemed to beg him for a touch.

He took a deep breath. This was not going well, and he had been in a room with her for less than five minutes.

They reached the bottom of the ladder, and he led her to a small, narrow staircase. "Should you get lost in the tower again, go to the portside, which is where you'll find this staircase."

"Oh, of course. Now, if I can only remember which side is _port_, I shall be fine."

"You'll get used to it."

"How long did it take you?"

"A month or so, I guess."

"Oh. I'll just get used to the ship, then it will be time for me to – leave."

He stopped and looked at her. His mind screamed to tell her to stay with him, but he was silent. "You'll still have two weeks." He said, lamely, and began walking away.

He led her through a door, finally, and onto the main deck, where Uncle Iroh sat in the shade of a massive umbrella, a small table before him.

"Good morning, Uncle." Lan called to him, and he responded with a wave.

"Ah, Lan, my dear. Good morning." He turned up his cheek for her to kiss. "Have you had breakfast yet?"

She smiled. "No. I spent the morning lost in the ship. Zuko rescued me and brought me here."

"Oh, you're calling him _Zuko_ again. How marvelous!"

Lan and Zuko both blushed.

"Oh, oh, well." Lan began. "It seems so – silly to say _Your Highness_ when no one is around."

"Oh, I concur – _heartily_. It _does _seem silly to stand on ceremony when it's just the three of us." Iroh smiled jovially. "It was very chivalrous of you, Zuko, to bring her here to me."

The prince colored. "What was I supposed to do? Let her wander around the ship all day?"

"Well, you can continue to be gentlemanly, and take her to the galley so that she can get some breakfast."

"No, no, Uncle," Lan began. "I don't want to take Zuko from his duties."

"Nonsense, nonsense." Iroh waved a hand airily. "It should only take him a few minutes."

Zuko's jaw set. "Fine." He said between clenched teeth. "This way, Lady Lan Chi." He held out an arm to indicate that she should precede him, and glared at his uncle as he walked away.

He led her through several long and winding corridors to the kitchen, and Lan despaired of ever finding her way back to her room, or back to the kitchen again.

The kitchen was large and very warm, filled with baskets of fresh fruit and vegetables, and stacked with bags of rice.

The cook was busy at a counter, chopping onions, but, when Zuko greeted him, he stood to attention.

"Good morning, Your Highness, Sir. Was there something amiss with your breakfast?"

"No, not at all. I was just showing – Lady Lan Chi around the ship."

"Welcome to the galley, my lady." He bowed.

"Thank you." She smiled and returned the bow.

"Lady Lan Chi has not eaten. Provide her with something." Zuko realized that he sounded a bit brusque, but he really had no desire to stand here and banter with the cook.

"Of course." The cook took no umbrage at Zuko's order. "I would pleased, my lady." He smiled at Lan. "Do you care for eggs?"

"Whatever you have. I shan't be an extra burden on you, as well."

"No burden at all, my lady! Please, do not think that!"

Lan smiled, and was about to thank the cook for his kindness when she heard a loud meow. She turned towards the sound to see a large, sleek puma cat saunter out of a box and rub around Zuko's legs.

Lan smiled. "Oh, Zuko, is this Taxiao?" She forgot to use his title.

"Isn't she lovely, my lady?" This came from the cook.

"Oh, yes." She squatted down as the cat came towards her, and reached out to scratch the animal behind her ears. "Aren't you a sweet little puss? Yes, you are. Aren't you?" She began cooing to the animal, whose purring soon became audible. The animal began rubbing against Lan's knees, and Lan laughed and stroked the cat along her back.

Zuko, who stood stoically watching, cleared his throat. "Lady Lan Chi, enjoy your breakfast." With a nod and a bow, he was gone, leaving Lan to watch his retreating back speculatively.

* * *

The next few days were relatively quiet. Zuko tried to avoid Lan Chi as much as possible, and Lan, still unfamiliar with the layout of the ship, spent quite a bit of her time lost.

She also spent quite a bit of time with Iroh, getting reacquainted with him. He was much the same as he had always been: kind and affectionate, with a ready smile and a merry laugh. As he was still relatively obsessed with pai sho, they passed each morning on the deck in a game, beneath the cover of an enormous umbrella.

"You know, Prince Zuko never did learn how to play pai sho." He said to her one morning, his eyes sliding speculatively to her.

She did not look up from her pieces. "I'm not surprised. He never showed any aptitude for it. Or patience."

"Yes, unfortunately, his patience has not improved."

"Well, it's his loss. He'll never know the joy of pai sho." She gave her uncle a teasing smile.

"You could try teaching him again."

Her eyes snapped to his. "Absolutely not! He barely paid attention when he was in love with me! I doubt he'll do much better now that he hates me!"

"Ah, Lan, he doesn't hate you. You must know that."

Her eyes fluttered down to the board. "You could have fooled me."

"He tries to fool everyone."

"He's doing a good job."

Iroh watched her for a long moment as she pondered her next move. "Lan, what do you feel for Zuko – now?"

As before, her eyes turned sharply to her uncle. "You've asked me before, and I've told you that I don't love him. What do you _want_ me to say, Uncle – what will satisfy you? That I'm still in love with him?"

"If it's true."

"I told you before that it's not." She looked down at her pieces.

"Are you trying to fool everyone, as well? Or perhaps just yourself?"

She sat back and looked at him, anger on her face. "What are you playing at, Uncle? When I returned from the Royal Fire Academy for Girls, you did everything in your power to keep me away from him."

"But then I realized that keeping you apart was futile."

"Well, thank you." Her tone was cool. "I wish that your brother had felt the same."

"My brother has much to answer for."

"Yes, so you've said. So has _everyone _said. But no one will _ever _make him answer for it, nor for forcing me into a marriage that I do not want. Nor for squandering most of my fortune. So, please cease your silly matchmaking and leave it all _be_."

Iroh frowned. "You need not go through with it."

Lan knew that he was referring to her marriage. "Needn't I? What should I do, then? Run off and live in Ba Sing Se? Seek out my mother's family?" Both impossible things.

Iroh's face was like stone.

Lan Chi continued. "Perhaps I should run off with _Zuko_. Take my dowry and leave here with him. Find a small village, perhaps, or, better yet – an _island_, where no one knows us."

Iroh spoke finally, his voice rusty. "It would be my fondest wish were that to happen, Lan."

"But it won't, Uncle, and you _know _that it won't. Because Zuko would never countenance it. Because being Fire Lord, because _pleasing _his father, has always been more important to him than me. And so I shall marry a stranger because of Zuko's _blind _devotion to a man who wishes him _dead_." She pushed the board away suddenly. "It's too hot out here for me, Uncle. Please excuse me."

She walked shakily from him, her hand pressed to her stomach. Was it so obvious? Was it so obvious that she still loved him? That it didn't matter that his face was different – that _he _was different?

She found her way back to her cabin with little trouble, and shut herself inside its cool darkness. What she had said to Iroh was true – all of it. She would leave it all behind if she thought that Zuko would. But he would not, and she had committed herself to saving his _foolish, foolish _life.

She sighed. She had not lied to Iroh about the weather, either. It was too _ridiculously_ hot. It was hot, and she was in a foul mood. No doubt Zuko was in a foul mood, too, wearing, as he insisted upon, full Fire Nation armor.

With the summer solstice just a few days away, the temperature was high, and would likely stay that way. Furthermore, the ship had been staying fairly close to the equator, and the past few days it had been becalmed and dependent upon the engines entirely to move.

With little to no cooling breezes, sleep had become difficult; there was no real cooling system on the ship – only a series of fans to circulate the air. And, what good were fans when the air outside and the air inside were practically the same temperature?

Lan Chi, of course, was among the luckiest people on the ship. Her cabin boasted large windows, and, since, at night, the sun did not beat down, she could take advantage of that by opening the windows when it was dark, and shutting them when it was light.

As a result, her room was less miserable than those of the crew. But that didn't mean that she wasn't _roasting alive _in the silk robe that she wore. Despite its relatively lightweight fabric, thanks to the breast wrappings and undergarments, she felt like she was wearing a thick coat.

She stripped it off impatiently and threw herself onto the thin futon on the floor, staring up at the ceiling. Part of her wanted to take Iroh's suggestion and stay with Zuko, and part of her wanted to leave immediately and forever because she _knew _that she could never have him.

She sat up. The latter would happen soon enough, and she should strive to make her time on this ship _mean _something. She had plans to make, and she should start sooner rather than later.

She got up and went to her armoire, searching for her loose, lightweight sparring clothes. She would start wearing them on hot days like this. _Surely _Zuko could not protest her wearing pants – after all, every inch of her would be covered. However, despite that fact that the clothes were actually more substantial, wearing them would be more comfortable, because she need not wear copious undergarments

She pulled out each drawer in turn, but could not find the clothes for which she was searching.

"Wonderful." She grumbled. Obviously, her sparring clothes were in a trunk that had not been brought to her room.

She sighed, reluctantly donned the silk robe again, and made her way to the bridge, in search of a crew member to escort her to the hold to find the missing trunk

She found Zuko on the bridge, again, as well as several crew members. She nearly retreated, lamenting the bad luck that caused her to find her cousin there again, rather than simply Lieutenant Jee – or the engineer, or anyone _but _Zuko!

She cleared her throat. "Pardon me, Your Highness. I was wondering if you could spare one of your men to accompany me to the hold. There is a trunk of mine there that I need."

He looked at her with suspicion. "Why do you need it?"

She blushed. Trust him to question her.

"I – I need something in one of the trunks."

Zuko sighed aggrievedly. "I'll take you." Even as he said it, a thought came into his mind. _Is that a good idea, Zuko_?

She panicked. _Is that a good idea, Zuko_? _Going into an empty hold with me_? "No, but, Zuko, you don't need to!" She unconsciously slipped into the use of his first name, a detail that Jee and the others did not miss.

Zuko set his jaw. "It would be – my pleasure," he choked on the word, "to escort you, my lady."

Her shoulders slumped. "Thank you, Highness."

He indicated the ladder. "Please, my lady. Precede me."

"Thank you." She did, and waited for him at the bottom. "I – I didn't mean to take you away from your duties, Zuko."

"You would have taken someone else from their duties. Better me than them."

She gave a shadow of a smile as she descended the next ladder. "Why? Have they more duties than you?"

At the foot of the next ladder, he gave her a dark look. "No, because I want to minimize your contact with them."

She stiffened. "You think to make me a pariah."

"Not in the least. You shall still have Uncle."

She gave a stilted smile. "Aren't you – _thoughtful_?"

He ignored her. "Once we get to the main deck level, we'll descend through the hatch there."

She nodded, and they climbed down to the main deck fairly quickly.

Iroh was in the same spot as before, and they both ignored him.

Iroh took no umbrage, and smiled as he watched them disappear. "I wonder where they're going?" He mused aloud, humor in his voice.

Lan and Zuko, beneath the deck, each noticed an increased temperature.

"My, it _is _hot in here." Lan commented.

"The engine room is near."

Lan unconsciously pulled apart the collar of her robe. "How do you bear this heat, Zuko?"

He led the way now. "I'm a firebender. It doesn't bother me."

"Aren't you lucky?"

He gave a bark of laughter. "You know that's not true."

Lan blushed, remembering that Ozai had often remarked that Zuko had been born unlucky. "I – I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

He came to a large door and opened it. "Why not? It's true."

She shook her head. "It's not true."

He stepped through into the hold, and ignored her statement. "Here. I think this is all of them."

All her trunks were lined up neatly in a row against the far wall. The rest of the hold was filled with row upon row of stacked crates. Supplies, obviously.

A quick flick of his wrist, and a torch on the wall was lit, followed by two more.

"It's that one, I think." She pointed to a massive, iron-bound trunk.

"Ah. The heavy one, of course."

"I'm not asking you to _move_ it – just open it."

"How will I open it if I don't move it? It's wedged against the wall. There's no way the lid will stay open unless it's away from the wall."

She put her thumb under her chin and stared at the trunk. "I see what you mean. Can you move it out just a bit? I can help, if you'd like."

He bristled at the suggestion. "I am more than capable of moving it on my own."

She shrugged. "Oh, well, I thought that perhaps it was – _too _big."

He glared at her. "It's not."

He surveyed the trunk for a long moment before approaching it. He grabbed the lock and tugged on it. "Do you have a key for this?"

Luckily, she had come prepared. "Oh. Yes. Right here." She fumbled around in the neck of her robe, not noticing the strangled look on Zuko's face. She produced a tiny key ring on a long chain.

"You – you keep the keys there?" His voice was thin.

"What? No. Don't be silly. Only when I know I'm going to be using them. I usually keep them in a satchel."

"Oh." He was trying to recover from thoughts of where those keys had been hanging.

"Do you want to open my chest now?"

He looked at her stupidly, his mind already thinking about her naked body. "Do – I – want – to – open – your – chest – now?"

"Yes. The chest. You know, the _trunk_?"

"Oh! The trunk! Do I want to open the trunk now?" He was relieved and disappointed at the same time.

A quizzical look came over her. "What did you think I said?"

He tried to cover his embarrassment. "I thought you meant the trunk. Of course. No, we'll open it when I pull it out." That sounded strange, too, and his face colored. Luckily, the light was dim enough that it was not noticeable.

"Let's get started." He peered at the clearance on both sides. "It's very close to these other trunks."

"Do you think you can do it?"

He looked at her, irritated. "Yes! Of course I can _do_ it." He tried to shove his hand between the trunk and the one adjacent, but his armored wrist shields hindered him. "Spirits! Help me get these off." He thrust his arms towards her.

"I think I can get _my_ arm in there…" She was peering closely at Zuko's task.

"For the love of Agni, Lan! Can you pull a 300-pound trunk _forward_, too? Just help me take these arm shields off!"

She raised an eyebrow, but reached forward and deftly removed the fingers skimmed the sensitive skin of his wrists, giving them both shivers. She slanted a look at him, but his face was stony.

"Thank you." He said quietly. She nodded and stepped back, clutching the arm shields to her.

He turned his attention to the trunk, trying to gauge the best method to pull it away from the wall. There seemed to be no easy way, so he shoved both arms in between the two trunks and grasped the handle wedged there. He spread his feet apart to stabilize himself, and, with a deep breath, pulled the trunk forward. It did not budge at first, but, with a mighty effort, and with a conscious knowledge that Lan was watching him, he slid the trunk a few inches. He moved to the other side, and repeated his effort until the trunk was about three inches from the wall.

"Can we open it now, do you think?"

Zuko scratched his head. "I don't know. Let's try." He held his hand out for the key. She pulled it from her cleavage again, lifted the chain over her head, and laid it over his out-stretched hand. Zuko's eyes met hers briefly before his fingers closed over the key. It was still warm from nestling against her skin.

He turned abruptly, opened the lock, slid it from the hasp, and pushed back the lid – about four inches, where the back corner met the wall. He sighed, holding the lid open. "Can you get anything out?"

She looked at the size of the opening. "I can try." She peered into the dark trunk, and shoved her arm into it, feeling for its contents while trying to see inside.

"Here." Zuko stuck his hand in and produced a flame.

She pulled his arm out in alarm, and the trunk fell closed. "Zuko! Have you lost your mind? You'll set everything on fire!"

"Well, I was just trying to help! Why do you have so much _stuff_?"

"Excuse me for bringing what's left of my life with me! How would you like it if you were sent away from home –" She stopped abruptly, horror on her face.

His features were impassable.

"Zuko. I'm sorry. I – forgot. I'm sorry."

A muscle ticked in his cheek. "Don't be. We're both banished, after all." He turned back to his task. "The only difference is that someday I'll be welcomed back." He put his hands on the lip of the trunk, and, with the lid resting on his hands, pulled the trunk out with one vicious tug.

"There. There's your trunk." He flung the lid open and turned to her.

She stood, frozen, staring at him, moisture gathered in her eyes. "I'll get it later," she whispered, her voice thick with unshed tears. She turned and fled the room.

He watched her go, and then leaned his head back to look at the ceiling, frustration and anger building in him. "Arrgh!" He gave the trunk a hard kick. "Idiot! Stupid, careless idiot!" He kicked it again, and again, until his foot hurt and the trunk rested back in its original position. "Can't you ever get anything right, Zuko? _Ever_?" He grasped the trunk again, and yanked it away from the wall. He stared at it balefully and then, hands clenched into fists, stomped from the room.

Iroh watched as first Lan Chi, then, a scant minute or two later, Zuko, came through the deck hatch.

Lan Chi came out at a run, ignoring her uncle, and disappearing into the main tower, while Zuko stormed out.

"Zuko!" Iroh called out to him. "Prince Zuko! Come here, please!"

Zuko gave him a dark look, but came over to his uncle nonetheless. "What?!" He demanded.

"Problems, my nephew?" Iroh tucked his hands in his sleeves.

Zuko gave him a mulish look. "What makes you think that?"

"Well, you went down to the hold with Lan Chi, but you came up – separately."

"So?!"

"She looked upset. So do you."

He walked to the railing and stared disconsolately out at the sea. "We fought."

"People fight, Zuko. Especially those who care about one another."

"She doesn't care about me." He said dully. "Especially after what I just said to her."

"What did you _say_, Zuko?"

The prince sighed. "I told her that we were both banished but that one day – _I'd _be welcomed back."

"Oh, Zuko. _Why _would you say that?"

"Because I'm an idiot." He hung his head.

Iroh stood stiffly to his feet, and patted his nephew on the shoulder. "You _are_ still in love with her, aren't you?"

"No. Of course not." He scoffed. "Besides," he continued, "even if I _were _still in love with her, would it even matter? _She's_ getting married. And, even if she _wasn't_, _everything's _changed."

"What do you mean?"

He gave his uncle a look full of scorn. "You are _honestly_ asking me what I mean? When she and I – knew each other, I was a different person – I had a different face. I – I was Prince of the Fire Nation! Now – now," his shoulders slumped. "I'm an outcast."

"She does not care about that."

He turned to face his uncle, and thumped his chest. "But I care! I'm _nothing_! A nothing – with _nothing_ to offer!"

"That's not true." Iroh protested.

Zuko threw his hands into the air. "No! You're right! I can offer her a lifetime of wandering – of searching – with no home!" His shoulders slumped. "I don't want that for her." His voice had dropped to a whisper.

"Why don't you let _her_ make that decision?"

He shook his head. "It's no use. She's betrothed – to a man my father chose." He smiled bitterly. "And you know, as well as I, that what the Fire Lord has decreed must come to pass."

* * *

**Author's Notes:** The path to true love is never, ever smooth or easy...

Please review and make me the happiest author on the site! : )


	31. Chapter 31

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN _NICKELODEON'S AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER_ OR ITS CHARACTERS. I just** **am getting MIGHT tired of waiting for a Legend of Korra Book 2 premiere!**

**Author's Notes: **As those of you who read my "Young Justice" fanfic, "Shatter Me" know, I experienced an unexpected death in the family in early February, 2013, and, among other things, had to travel literally across the country for the funeral. As a result, "The Spirit Within" remained unwritten until this week, although "Shatter Me," with about ten chapters in reserve, was consistently updated.

I hope to be able to get back into writing unreservedly, although, after missing quite a lot of real-life work, I am still playing "catch up."

I would like to thank everyone who extended their condolences, as well as all my readers for their patience and fidelity to this story. I WILL NOT abandon it - I have lived with it for far too long to give it up now, so be reassured on that!

Again, thank you all so much, and enjoy the chapter!

* * *

Lan Chi slammed the door of her cabin behind her, and leaned against it, wiping nascent tears from her eyes. She wouldn't cry. She _would not_! She had sworn, more than two years before, that she would not expend any more time or energy crying over Zuko, and she would not!

Besides, why should she cry over his stupid _words_? He said something hurtful – that was no surprise. He was not _her_ Zuko anymore – he was not the boy who had held her hand solicitously when Lu Ten had died, who had courted her, and who had loved her. He was a bitter, angry _stranger_.

_Well, _she thought, _this should make it easier to stay away from him_.

She took a deep breath. Standing in her room wouldn't get her sparring clothes into her hands. She would have to go back down to the hold by herself. At least she knew where it was now.

She would wait a while, though. He might still be on deck.

She decided to practice her waterbending. That always calmed her, and, after all, she had neglected it _dreadfully_ since returning from Royal Caldera City.

She had a pitcher of water in her room, and, taking a wide-legged stance, she closed her eyes and drew in a cleansing breath. She brought her hands together at her waist, and brought them up slowly until they were at the eye level.

She could almost feel the water undulating as it snaked through the air from the pitcher, and she smiled, her eyes still closed. She stepped to the side and turned, and the water mimicked her. It slithered in a circle through the air, and she brought it towards her in a long string before taking it between her hands.

She looked at it, and it shimmered and winked at her, almost alive. She flattened it, then allowed it to expand until she thought she could see space between the drops. She allowed it to fall, and caught it before it hit the floor, and brought it back up to shoulder level, and repeated her actions.

The water bounced up and down slowly, and it enthralled her, mesmerizing her with its sparkling beauty.

A loud knocking on the door broke her concentration, and she dropped the water to the floor, where, devoid of magic, it splattered everywhere.

With a muffled oath, she hurriedly pulled it back into a ball and carried it to the window, all while the knocking continued.

She fumbled with one hand to open the window latch, and, finally, threw the water out into the sea.

She stomped over to the door. "Who is it?" She asked peevishly through the metal.

"Prince Zuko."

_Zuko_! What did he want? To make her cry again?

"Go away!"

There was a long silence, and she thought that he had heeded her words.

"I will not _go away_!" His voice, angry and low, came to her. "This is _my _ship, and I will come in if I want."

Lan was livid. How dare he?! "How _chivalrous _of you, Your Highness, to threaten to break into a lady's bedchamber!"

She thought she heard his strangled reaction, and she smiled. Let him stew on that!

"I – I didn't mean that!" He sounded flustered now, and she smiled. Good!

He continued. "I – I –" he stammered, "I want to – say – how – _sorry –_ I – am for – saying what I – said earlier." Each word sounded like it was pulled from him painfully.

"Oh, yes, you _sound_ regretful!"

There was another long silence. "Fine! I'm not sorry! And you can stay in there for the next _six weeks _for all I care."

Her face reddened, and she yanked the door open to confront him, standing there, his hands fisted at his side and his countenance red. "You don't own me! I'll come out if I _want_!" She slammed the door in his face, and his face became mottled.

He was almost apoplectic. "Uh, I, uh, _fine_! I don't care _what _you do!" He stormed off.

With every step he took, however, he regretted his rash words more and more. _Stupid, Zuko! Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why must you antagonize her so?_

With a sigh, he returned to his duties, and tried to put her face from his mind.

* * *

Within her room, Lan Chi stared at the door. Stupid, stupid, _stupid _prince!

Infuriating man! She picked up her brush with the intention of throwing it across the room, but stayed her hand. She wasn't going to lose her temper. Besides, she really wanted to hit _Zuko_, not her wall.

She pouted. She wasn't going to stay in here. Wouldn't _that _make Zuko happy if she did?! No. She was going to go to the deck and sit with Uncle. No. First, she was going to go back down to the hold and get her clothing, and _then _she would go sit with Uncle.

She found her way back to the hold easily and retrieved an armful of her sparring clothes, as well as the boots she always wore for such exercises.

After returning to her room and donning a set, she boldly made her way up to the deck to find Iroh on his own, playing a solitary domino game.

"Hello, Uncle." Her voice was small – she felt guilty for their fight earlier.

"Ah, hello, dear. Oh, look at your clothes! Those look much more comfortable than your robe – though not as colorful!" He laughed at his own wit, and Lan settled down across from him. "Is that what you went into the hold for?"

"Yes. How did you know?"

He shrugged. "Zuko mentioned it."

"Did he mention our argument, as well?" No use hiding it from Uncle. He always ferreted out the truth.

"Yes, indeed he did. We do not need to speak of it – unless _you_ wish to."

She shook her head. "No. No, I don't."

"Well, you needn't shut yourself in your room for the rest of your voyage." His smile widened. "Really."

"I wasn't going to. But perhaps I should attempt to – avoid Zuko." She looked at him uncertainly. "Whenever he and I are together, we seem to – bring out the worst in each other."

"Nonsense."

"It's _not _nonsense."

Iroh smiled at her kindly. "Come sit down and play pai sho with me, and do not worry about Zuko. Please."

Lan closed her jaw instead of protesting. Even though she wanted to minimize her time near Zuko, she also knew that her time with Iroh was limited. She gazed down at her feet and shrugged. "All right." She looked at him. "I was going to have breakfast first."

"I have noodles right here." He indicated a pot on a small table. "I just finished some."

She sighed wearily. "Fine." She sat on a cushion in the shade of the umbrella, near him, served herself a bowl of noodles, and picked up a pair of chopsticks.

The day was clear, sunny, and hot, and she was grateful to be shielded from the strong sunlight.

Iroh looked at her for a long time, smiling. "You know, I have not seen you in sparring clothes in – well, a _very _long time. Did you keep up your training?"

She shrugged as she dug chopsticks into the bowl. "Yes. My master was no Jiao Ao, though."

"Ah, yes, Jiao Ao. A fine, worthy martial arts master. I wonder where he is now."

"I should think he is still at the Royal Fire Academy for Girls."

"Hmm. Perhaps. He taught you and Zuko well."

The chopsticks stopped halfway to her mouth. "Where is Zuko?"

Iroh gave a slow, long laugh. "I'm not sure. He likes to keep busy."

"Hmm." She chewed the noodles, and, although they were quite tasty, the hot weather seemed to make the food turn sour in her throat.

As if conjured, Zuko appeared from the deck hatch. He did not, however, _appear_ happy. "Idle _parasites_! Lazy! Ungrateful! We _should _have left them all in prison!" He threw a glare back at the hatch, although no one was there to receive his look.

Iroh and Lan exchanged looks, and Iroh turned to Zuko. "Hello, Nephew! Have you come to train?"

Zuko hesitated when he saw Lan, but recovered, and stripped off his uniform jacket, leaving a lightwait, long-sleeved shirt exposed.

Lan gave Iroh and then Zuko panicked looks, and then brought her noodle bowl up to obscure her face.

Zuko, who missed a step when he saw Lan, recovered. "Yes, _I _am ready to train. Jee, however, says that he _cannot_. That he has _duties_!"

"Well, it is true. All of the men are quite busy. You know that we have a bare bones crew, Zuko."

The prince grunted and tossed the jacket to the deck. "And one of his duties is to match me when I train."

"What is he busy doing?

"Setting the course."

"Oh! Have you decided upon one, then?"

"Perhaps. I am torn between a colony called Daejeon Ju and a wilderness area called Dàliàng."

"Can't we go to both?" Iroh asked.

"There is little reason to go to Daejeon Ju, I think. It will be another dead end. It is heavily populated – no Avatar is hiding there, and within two days' ride is Earth Kingdom territory. _Disputed _Earth Kingdom territory. We needn't risk our lives for such a slim chance. However, there is a legend that _a man of the winds_ lives in the hills surrounding Dàliàng."

Lan Chi lowered her bowl. "We're going to Daejeon Ju?" Daejeon Ju was the city where she had attended the opera with Fai and Ming. The city in which the garrison – with all its secrets – adjoined the opera house.

Perfect for her plans.

Zuko gave her a look of annoyance. "I have not decided. There seems little reason."

Lan knew she could do little to convince Zuko, so she turned to Iroh. "Uncle, Daejeon Ju! They have a _wonderful_ opera house there! May we go?"

Zuko looked at her darkly. _"He _is not the commander of this ship, and does not set course! I do!"

"Oh, Zuko, it would not be a _bad _idea to go there. I was at that opera house once – it's quite lovely." Iroh smiled.

"We're not on a _holiday_, Uncle! I have a mission to complete."

Lan gave an aggrieved sigh. They _must _go to Daejeon Ju! She knew the garrison, she knew where the general's office was – she knew the general!

Of course!

She gave Zuko an uncertain look. "I don't know that it matters, Zuko, but I _am familiar _with General Jeung, the commander of the garrison."

"Chang-Su Jeung! Really! _He _is commanding the garrison of Daejeon Ju? How wonderful!" Iroh turned to Zuko. "I was at the Royal Fire Academy with his older brother. We must go see him."

Zuko gave both of them a belligerent look. He did not like being pressured or strong-armed. "I don't think so."

"But why?" Lan could not understand why he was being so _bullheaded_.

"Because I _said _so, that's why!" He barked at her, and she glared at him. After a few moments of looking daggers at one another, he turned to Iroh. "Will you spar with me, Uncle?"

Iroh chuckled. "I think not, Nephew. My days of sparring are over."

"You could use some exercise." Zuko said nastily.

Iroh nodded. "That is true, but, nonetheless, I won't spar with you. You could go through forms. The more you drill them –"

"Yes, yes, I know! The more that I drill them, the better I shall become!"

"Exactly." Iroh nodded in satisfaction.

"Well, then, if _only _the Avatar will allow me to defeat him by _drilling forms_!" He kicked at a cushion.

Iroh was silent, looking at his nephew, who walked to the center of the deck and sank into a horse stance. It was true, of course. Zuko was already at a _huge _disadvantage if ever he encountered the Avatar, knowing only one element to the Avatar's four. Zuko's youth was on his side, it was true, but the Avatar was also immensely experienced.

And Zuko needed, if nothing else, real-world experience in hand-to-hand combat.

Iroh looked speculatively at Zuko and then Lan Chi, picking at her noodle breakfast with disinterest. She had always been, according to Jiao Ao, among the most talented young fighters at the Royal Academy for Girls.

Admittedly, Zuko really needed to fight against _other _elements, but beggars could not, of course, be choosy.

"Zuko, why don't you spar with Lan?"

Two sets of eyes shot to his face.

"Uncle!" They both said simultaneously, and looked at each other for a brief moment before looking back to Iroh.

The general laughed. "You two seem to make a habit of that."

"Uncle, you _must _be joking! I'm not going to spar with _her_!"

"What?" Lan was outraged. "What's wrong with me? Do you think yourself a better fighter?"

He looked her over. "_Obviously_."

She looked at him coolly. "No doubt you have the advantage when it comes to using _elements_, but I have trained my _entire _life in hand-to-hand combat. I could – and _can _take you down in one move, should I so desire."

"Ha!" He scoffed. "_You_? Take _me _down? And in _one _move? You've lost your mind, _Cousin_!"

"You may toss barbs about all that you like, _Your Highness._" Her voice dripped scorn. "You choose insults over actions."

Iroh looked between them, thoroughly enjoying their bickering. It showed – _passion_.

"I have no need of insults to defeat _you_." Zuko crossed his arms.

"You would need quite a bit more than insults." Lan was confident.

His eyes narrowed. "What makes _you _think that _you_ can defeat _me_? I outweigh you by _fifty _pounds, and I have spent the last two years doing nothing other than studying the martial arts."

A haughty smile came to her face. "Planning will be your downfall, Zuko. You _over_think things. You must learn to allow your _instinct to _guide you rather than your intellect."

He gave a derisive bow. "Thank you, o wise and learned one! What other pearls do you have to impart as a result of your _sixteen _years of life?"

She waved a hand at him. "Mock me all that you like. It does not change the fact that I am the superior tactician."

He pointed a figure at her. "You just said that one should not _overthink_, yet you say you'll defeat me with your tactics."

Her look was superior, even though she could see the flaw in her own logic. "It's clear that you don't understand, and, if you don't, I shan't explain."

"Ha!" He threw his arms up and turned away, intending to return to his form. "You would say that!"

Lan shrugged, and pushed the remaining noodles around her bowl. "I have no interest in sparring with you anyway. I would hate to humiliate you in front of Uncle."

Zuko spun about, his eyes narrowed and his look dangerous. "You _really _think that you can beat _me_?"

"Of course." She shrugged.

"Then _do it_."

Lan looked at Zuko, and then at her uncle, who was watching her speculatively. She turned back to Zuko. "All right." She dropped her chopsticks into the bowl, and set it all aside while Zuko watched her, his arms crossed.

Iroh's eyes widened. He did not expect Lan Chi to actually _agree _to a match. "Lan Chi, is this a good idea?"

She wiped her hands on her pants. "Yes, Uncle, I think it is."

"Perhaps you should listen to Uncle." Zuko was attempting to goad her.

"Perhaps you should worry about yourself." She snapped.

Iroh looked at each of them in turn, then shrugged. "Very well, then. Suit yourselves. But _I _will determine the rules."

"Of course, Uncle." Zuko's words were clipped, and his look at Lan was murderous.

An idea came to Lan's mind. "As to rules, Uncle, I would like there to be some remuneration when I win."

Zuko looked at her in astonishment. "_When _you win? You won't win."

"Care to put a small bet on that, Cousin?"

"_You _want money?"

"Not at all. When I win –"

"_If _you win. Which you _won't._" He reminded her.

She ignored him. "I want to go to Daejeon Ju. I want the three of us to go to the opera, _and _I want you to take Uncle and me out to dinner before the opera."

"Ha!" Zuko gave a bark of laughter. "You're _that _confident that you're going to win?"

"I'm certain."

"Well, what do I get when_ I_ win?"

"Zuko! That is not honorable. A gentleman would never demand a prize from a lady!" Iroh was aghast.

Lan held up a hand. "No, Uncle. I suggested the wager. It would be dishonorable of _me _to prevent him from asking a forfeit. So," she turned to Zuko again, "what do you want?"

There was a moment of pure awareness that crackled between them, and they both knew, in that moment, what Zuko _wanted –_ and what he could not admit. _I want __**you**_. She almost heard his voice, even though he had not spoken, and she realized the folly that she had allowed herself to walk into. She looked down at her feet.

He still wanted her. He still loved her.

But that did not matter. She was marrying someone else.

He looked away from her, as well. "Whatever. It's unimportant."

"I – I can – cook." She mumbled, and he turned back to her, his light eyes intense. "I know how to cook. I could – make dinner. For a week. Your favorite meals."

"How do you know my favorite meals?"

"I just – do." She looked at him for a moment, then averted her eyes as memories flooded her, and nearly strangled the breath from her throat. "S – slivered pork with – pea pods and candied ginger. Noodles with – sesame sauce. Komodo chicken with water chestnuts."

"I don't like Komodo chicken." Iroh put in.

Lan gave him a small smile. "I'll make yours with pork, Uncle. _If _I lose. Which I won't." She raised her chin and looked at Zuko again – belligerently, this time.

Zuko, whose eyes had softened as he listened to the list of his favorite meals – as he recalled the same memories as Lan, suddenly straightened, his eyes hard now. "You _will_ lose."

She shrugged. "Prove it."

"I will." He continued to glare at her. No matter his feelings for her, he would defeat her.

"You will compete for points. Here," Iroh handed them each a handkerchief, which Zuko took with distaste.

"Uncle, please tell me that these are clean."

"Mostly. Now tuck it into the back of your pants." Both did, reluctantly. "The first of you to remove that from his – or _her_ opponent's waistband will get a point. Best two out of three." He looked at each in turn. "Agreed?"

"Agreed." Lan's voice was short, and Zuko merely gave a brief nod.

"Weapons?" Iroh asked.

"No weapons." Zuko was watching Lan for her reaction. "Hand to hand."

"Zuko, I do not know if that is fair."

Lan Chi held up a hand. "No, Uncle. It's fine. I'm willing. State the rules." She rolled her shoulders to warm up.

Iroh sighed. "Fine." He began ticking the rules on his fingers. "Head contact will be allowed only with controlled technique. There will be no kicks or punches below the belt, to the face, the forehead, throat, shoulders, arms, or spine..."

"Uncle, really?" Zuko asked, disgust in his voice. "No arm or shoulder contact?"

Iroh looked at Lan, who gave a curt nod. "Fine. But there will be no grabbing, holding, joint locks, pokes, gouges, scratching, or biting."

"There go all of your techniques, Cousin." Zuko said, a sour smile on his face.

"I don't need to use underhanded techniques to take you down, _Your Highness_."

Iroh held up one last finger. "Oh, and points will be awarded to at the discretion of the arbitrator who is, in this case, me." He smiled. "And please don't throw each other overboard."

"Don't tempt me, Uncle." Although Zuko addressed his uncle, he looked at Lan Chi.

Iroh looked with concern at Zuko. "Prince Zuko, go warm up. I would like to speak to my niece."

He nodded and removed himself.

Iroh took Lan by the arm and moved them farther away. "Lan Chi, are you _certain _that you want to do this? Zuko is _much _stronger than you."

She smiled at her Uncle. "But I'm smarter."

Iroh watched the expression on her face. "But..."

"Thank you, Uncle. I know what I'm doing." At his skeptical look, she smiled. "I do. Really."

He finally nodded. "Be careful."

"I will."

He nodded and stepped away from Lan and walked over to Zuko, who was stretching. "Zuko, a word."

"Uncle." He continued to warm up.

"Zuko, you know that you are fighting a woman."

"Yes. Are you saying that I should be lenient _because _she is a woman?"

"Well, no – but, yes."

Zuko gave him a look of disgust. "Could you be more _cryptic_?"

"Just be cognizant of her gender."

"Oh, I am." Zuko gave her a brief look.

Iroh nearly smiled. "I mean that she is not _physically _as strong as you, Zuko."

"You want to be certain that I do not hurt her."

"Yes."

"No. I won't."

"That's all I can ask, then."

He returned to his cushion and sat. "Don't knock over my umbrella." He waved a hand languidly. "Begin."

They circled one other warily, each taking the other's measure, each looking for a weakness or an advantage. Zuko was in peak physical condition – that much was apparent, and the only flaw that she could see would be in – _possibly_ – attacking on his left side, which was his burned side. She did not know the extent of the damage to his peripheral vision, and she could, perhaps, utilize that, although it seemed cowardly to use his injury against him.

_Well, then, use your wits. You told Uncle that you're smarter. Prove it._

Prove it. Why hadn't she kept her mouth shut?

_Because this opportunity to go to Daejeon Ju is too important to lose. _

If she could get him angry, he might make a mistake. She decided to go on the offensive verbally. "You keep circling, Zuko. Are you scared of me?"

He gave her an annoyed look. "Don't be ridiculous."

"It would be _horrible_ if I were to defeat you in front of Uncle."

"You won't." His step hitched, but he recovered. He _was _worried about that.

"Hmm. Perhaps we should call some of the crew to watch. But I understand that you do not want them to see me _humiliate _you."

She thought, for a moment, that she saw flames form around his fists, but, if she did, he extinguished them quickly. She smiled. She had gotten beneath his armor and had angered him.

Good. She could build on that.

They continued to size one another up, circling. "I've dedicated my life to becoming a warrior, Lan. So while you've been sitting in your parlor, setting stitches, or writing out case law for your uncle, I've been honing my skills. You _really _think that you can beat me?"

"I know that I can." She knew no such thing, but she wanted to keep him off-balance. "It's a matter of knowing my strengths and your weaknesses."

"You think that you know my weaknesses?"

She smiled evilly. "Several of them."

Goaded finally into action, Zuko foolishly lunged forward, and Lan, expecting exactly that, darted to the side, and Zuko fell past her. She twisted, and her fingers grasped the handkerchief, sliding it free.

Zuko skidded to a halt, and, turning to her, saw the handkerchief in her hand. His eyes grew wide, and his face turned an angry red.

"Point for Lady Lan Chi!" Iroh called out, mirth in his voice, applauding.

Zuko whirled to his uncle. "Stop clapping! There's no clapping!"

Iroh's hands stilled, and he lowered them into his lap.

Lan grinned, and twitched the handkerchief at her opponent. He grabbed it viciously.

"Lucky break." He growled, and stalked past her.

"If you want to give up now, Zuko, you can."

"I never give up." He faced her again, his hands up.

She shrugged. "There's nothing to be ashamed of. You were taught to use bending to fight. It's natural that you would – fail when you can't use it."

"Shut up and fight." He put his fists up and stepped towards her.

"Are you going to hit me?" She was, perversely, enjoying baiting him.

He dropped his hands and un-fisted them. "Only if you keep talking."

She laughed. "Does that bother you?"

"I can see that it's your only strategy." His fingers twitched, and she looked down at them and back up to his face.

"Not at all. You forget that I studied with Jiao Ao for over two years. I have _many _strategies."

"I studied with Jiao Ao, as well."

"For six months."

He struck out at her, and she knocked his hand away, although the force required to repulse him caused her to stagger back a few steps. He pressed his advantage and his other hand came towards her, and grabbed her wrist. She twisted out of the hold and away and, as she did, his other arm came around her and knocked her forward, and she felt the handkerchief being yanked from her waist band.

"Got you."

She whirled around to see a smug and superior smile, and she wanted to smack it from his face.

"Point for Prince Zuko." Iroh called, and, although Lan gave her uncle a dark look, she was silent.

"If you want to give up now, Lan, you can." Zuko threw her own words back at her.

She snatched the cloth from Zuko's hand. "I _let _you get that point. So you _wouldn't _be humiliated."

"Of course you did." He smirked at her, which she _hated_.

She had to control her inclination to pull a water whip from the sea and hit him with it.

"Let's get on with it." She took up a fighting stance, and Zuko followed suit.

They circled one another, again, and, finally, she moved in, reaching an arm out. He smacked it away and put his own hand out, intending to grab her shoulder and yank her forward, but she slid from beneath his touch and darted away, mindful of keeping her back away from him.

He followed and fell into a crouch, his leg sweeping out to take her down.

She went to the deck hard, but, before he could press her, she rolled away and regained her feet. However, he did not give her time to regroup. He was at her again, darting in with one hand and then the other, and she was forced backwards, swatting each of his strikes away with her forearms. She would definitely have bruises there when this was over, but such pain was unimportant compared with her goal of getting to Daejeon Ju.

She concentrated on watching his arm thrusts, and, finally, she was able to grab one wrist and fling him away from her. He staggered for a moment and she moved in to grab the handkerchief, but he ducked and spun, and suddenly, she was face to face with him, and she ran into him with considerable force, knocking him backwards.

They both sprawled onto the deck, with her on top of him, and, for a moment, all that they could do was stare at one another with wide-eyed confusion.

She pushed off him and skittered backwards, putting distance between them, and then they were both on their feet, their minds each on that moment that they found themselves pressed together.

_Concentrate! _Lan commanded herself. _Think! Think about how to beat him! What are your strengths? _

_Quickness, _she answered herself, and she launched herself at him again. He braced himself for the onslaught, but, at the last moment, she ducked to the side, and came up behind him.

He was a fraction of a second late, and, had she landed properly, she would have bested him, but her foot was just slightly off-balance, and, as she came up behind him, she found herself falling.

He sprang away as she went down, and, even though she recovered quickly, her chance was gone. Still, she came up, and charged him again, and, again, on the offensive, and he was forced to fight her back.

He found a break in her form, though, and his hand came up and struck at the inside of her shoulder, and she went staggering backwards.

Eyes spitting rage, she surged forward at him again, and, thought, for a moment, that she saw his hand come up with flames on it.

"Break!" Iroh was on his feet. He had seen the fire begin in Zuko's hand, and, although he was fairly certain that his nephew could control it, he was _not _at all certain that his _niece _could control her own bending.

As the match had progressed, the sea around the ship had started to get choppy until, at this point, Iroh's tea was sloshing in his cup.

"Both of you, get some water." Lan glared at Zuko, and stomped over to Iroh's table.

"Zuko." Iroh stopped him with a hand on his arm. "There was fire in your hand. Can you – "

"Yes!" He growled at his uncle, and snatched his arm away. He stiffly walked to the table, although he waited far away until Lan finished drinking and resumed her place.

Iroh approached her and stood close. "The seas have become quite choppy, Lady Lan Chi."

She gave him a pointed look, but said nothing, although she nodded.

Zuko returned to the middle of the deck, and Iroh took his seat again. "Begin." They started, but he was not done. "Remember," he pointed at his nephew, "no bending!"

"I know!" Zuko and Lan said simultaneously, and Zuko looked at her, startled.

Although her pulse jumped, she remained outwardly calm.

_Idiot!_ She remonstrated with herself.

"I know you won't use bending, Zuko. Will you?" She attempted to save the situation.

He frowned. "Of course not!" He said hotly. "That would be dishonorable."

In order to distract him, she struck out, and he was instantly on his guard and moved back, although his own hand snaked out and grabbed her wrist. She attempted to twist away, but his grip seemed unbreakable.

"Still think that you can beat me?"

"With my hands tied." She retorted, and feinted, as if she intended to spin and elbow him in the chest.

He braced himself, but, instead, twisting her own arm, she ducked under his, and, with one mighty tug, pulled free.

He whirled as she came up behind him, and reached out again in an attempt to imprison her arm. She struck upwards, just above his elbow and he was forced to step back. She moved forwards, attacking, but he blocked her blows and, although she attempted to strike his torso, he pushed her back.

Skidding to a halt, she placed one hand on the deck to steady herself, and glared at him, her breath coming hard.

"You can't hope to beat me, Cousin." He taunted, and, although, rationally, she knew that she should not take the bait, she surged forward. She intended to feint and make him believe that her attack would be against his head and face. She struck out, wide, and, when he put his arms up to block, she went low to sweep his leg out. However, as she dropped, he realized her intent and spun. With one leg, he gave her a kick to the back that sent her sprawling.

He was on her in an instant, pinning her to the ground, his legs straddling her body, leaning forward on her arms.

She knew, the minute his foot connected with her back, that she was lost, and it was with a sense of inevitability that she felt herself fall to the deck. However, the weight of his body on hers, the sensation of a being pinned down, brought back memories of the night that Zhao had tried to force himself upon her, and she struggled against him.

Ignoring her attempts to free herself, he bent low over her, his mouth against her ear, his body pressed to her back. "I win, Cousin."

"_Get off me_!" She screamed, shrilly, and panicked, bucked against him.

"Prince Zuko! Get off!"

She heard her uncle's voice from far off, and the pressure of Zuko's body on her was gone, along with the terror.

She felt the handkerchief slide from her waistband, and she jumped up, rage suffusing her face.

Zuko stood holding the handkerchief by two fingers. "It appears that your _instinct _failed you, Lan." There was a self-satisfied look on his face.

The boat pitched suddenly, and they both staggered across the deck, and Iroh, who was rising from his cushion, sat back down heavily.

Zuko grabbed Lan Chi's arm to steady her, but she pulled away. "Don't touch me." She snarled, and ran from the deck, her feet pounding on the metal, and she did not stop until she reached her room.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **So Zuko has tacitly revealed his feelings for Lan Chi, but, of course, it makes little difference, because she remains promised to another man, and he is still bullheadedly pursuing his father's agenda...

Please be kind in reviews! Although I submitted it to my betareaders, they did not have time to read it, and I chose to post it today to get back on schedule rather than delay the posting to get feedback from them. I hope it's not a mess!


	32. Chapter 32

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN _NICKELODEON'S AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER_ OR ITS CHARACTERS. I ****just**** REALLY want to see sexy adult Zuko in a flashback!**

* * *

"Really, Zuko, did you _have _to defeat her?"

Zuko, who had been watching Lan's retreat, goggled at his uncle. "What? Did I _have to defeat her_? Did you expect me to _let _her win?"

"That would have been the gentlemanly thing to do." Iroh calmly poured himself a cup of tea.

"Gentlemanly? She was trying to _humiliate _me!" He pointed impotently in the direction that she had fled.

Iroh gave him a stern look. "Humiliate you in front of _whom_? Me?" He took a sip.

"Yes!"

"Zuko, I have held a chamber pot for you while you _vomited _in it. Do you _really _think that you _losing _to Lan Chi would humiliate _you_ to _me_?"

Zuko crossed his arms and looked away.

Iroh tried to take a different tack. "You know," he said, swirling bits of tea leaves in his cup, "_I _would not mind going to the opera..."

Zuko looked at him, his face black. "We don't have time to go to Daejeon Ju _and _to Dàliàng! We have to have her in Tao Xing in less than _six weeks_!"

"If she is a day or two late, Zuko, I doubt that her fiancé will refuse to marry her."

Zuko turned to the railing and leaned on it. "If only." He mumbled.

Iroh smiled. "It would go _very _long way to healing this rift –"

Zuko whirled. "_What rift_?"

"The rift that occurred when you _pinned her to the ground and wouldn't let her up_!" He sounded exasperated.

Zuko had the good grace to look ashamed.

Iroh continued. "Taking her – taking _us _to the opera, and to dinner, would cause her to look more favorably upon you."

"What do _I _care if _she_ looks favorably on me?"

"Zuko, please do not continue to pretend that she means nothing."

"She means _less _than nothing!"

Iroh continued as if his nephew had not spoken. "It is _very _obvious that you still love her –"

Zuko interrupted his uncle again. "I don't! And – and – _even if _I do – which I _don't –_ for the _hundredth _time, what difference does it make if I _love _her or _loathe_ her? She marrying someone else!"

"But does it mean that you shall be at daggers drawn for the entire voyage? Do you _want _your last time together to be _warring_?"

Zuko's eyes closed. Their last time together? He had known, of course, for weeks, that all his former plans for them would never come to fruition, but to hear it from his uncle was so – _final_.

And his plans? He had been _planning_ to find the avatar, return home, and, after his father restored him to the succession, marry Lan.

And now he wouldn't. But that did not mean that he wanted their last days together to be filled with strife.

"No." He looked at Iroh. "I don't."

"Perhaps an apology, then. And a peace offering."

"No." He pushed off the railing, although, for the life of him, he did not know why he was being so stubborn. "We are _not _going to Daejeon Ju."

* * *

"Are you sure that you don't want me to carry those bowls, Lady Lan Chi?" The cook asked as he scurried along the corridor behind her.

"No, that's fine. I can carry them." Lan Chi balanced the platter on one hand and the empty bowls in the other as she and the cook made their way to Zuko's private dining room, where, even now, he and Iroh were waiting for dinner.

A dinner that, as a forfeit, she had cooked.

At first, as she stood in the kitchen, looking at all of the ingredients, she had been sorely tempted to make it the worst dinner in the world, but that would have been – dishonorable. Zuko had won the sparring match, and, as much as she hated the thought of acknowledging that, it was churlish _not _to.

What she hated more, of course, was the fact that she had not convinced him to go to Daejeon Ju. Instead, they were probably going to Dàliàng, a wilderness area that held absolutely nothing that she could bargain with for Zuko's life and freedom.

Damn him for winning! Damn her for allowing him to get the best of her!

She sighed as the cook opened the door into the dining room for her. "Shall I help you serve, my lady?" He asked solicitously.

"No, Zhu, but thank you." She gave him a quick smile and entered the room, girding herself for her humiliation.

She bowed to the two men in the room. "Your Highness. Uncle."

Zuko scrambled to his feet, and bowed stiffly in return. "Lady Lan Chi."

"You needn't stand for me, Majesty. I'm only the help, after all." Her words were snide.

He bristled. "Fine!" He plopped down on his cushion, his arms folded.

Iroh shot looks to each in turn, and cleared his throat. "It smells delicious, Lan, dear."

"Thank you, Uncle." She put the bowls and food in the middle of the table, and stood back.

Iroh looked at her quizzically. "There are only two bowls here."

"I shan't be eating now. After all, does Cook eat with you?"

Zuko glared at her. "You are being _deliberately _difficult."

She lifted her brows. "Am I? It was not my intention."

He put down his bowl. "Well, if _you're _not eating, then _I _am not eating."

"Why? Do you think that I may have _poisoned _it?" She retorted.

"I would not put it past you!" He said hotly.

"I'd _never _poison Uncle."

"But you _would _poison me?"

"Oh, Zuko, do not be _ridiculous_!" Iroh had had enough. He pointed to Lan Chi, who stood there looking smugly at her cousin. "And _you_, do not continue to _bait_ him! He won, _fairly_, and for you to be act so petulantly is ill-becoming of a member of my family! Now sit _down_, both of you, and cease your _endless _arguing_."_

Lan looked down at the floor, and then sat slowly at the table.

Iroh gave a small smile, filled the two bowls, handed one to Zuko, and the other to Lan.

"Uncle – there are only two bowls." Zuko pointed out.

"That's quite all right, Zuko. I'll use this." He pulled the platter to him and begin eating directly from it.

Zuko's eyes slid to him, and then to Lan, who was trying hard to suppress a smile.

"Uncle, what if _we _wanted more?" He had to ask.

"I'm sorry, Nephew, but I'm afraid that there wouldn't be enough for seconds." He said around a mouthful of noodles. "This is very delicious, Lan."

"Thank you, Uncle."

"Zuko, isn't this your favorite meal?"

Zuko nodded imperceptibly.

"I had no idea that Cook had pea pods." Iroh continued.

"He bought them in Lao Hai. They were just coming into season." Lan smiled at her uncle.

"Delicious. Absolutely delicious." Iroh repeated, and looked at his nephew. "Isn't it delicious, Zuko?"

"Yes, Uncle." He agreed quietly, keeping his head down.

"Thank you." Lan returned, equally as quietly.

Iroh looked between the two of them and sighed silently. They were both _very _stubborn.

The two younger people barely spoke throughout the meal, so it was up to their elder to carry the conversation, which he did with ease, although he wanted nothing more than to finish his noodles silently.

After they had all finished, Lan Chi moved to gather the empty bowls, but Zuko's hand snaked out and took hers, and then his uncle's empty platter.

"Wh – what are you doing?" Lan asked, bewildered.

"You cooked, so I shall – clean."

She shook her head. "No. No. You needn't –"

"I insist."

"But –"

"For pity's sake, Lan, stop arguing and let me clean up." He sounded exasperated, and she closed her mouth and nodded.

He gathered the detritus of their meal and, with a small smile, left the room.

Lan stared at her hands, clasped in her lap, not knowing what to say or do. She had not expected such consideration from Zuko, although Iroh, with the wisdom of more than sixty years, was unsurprised.

He was unsurprised, as well as _crafty_.

"Lan, dear," he began, "could you please have Cook put on some water for tea? I think my ginseng blend would be quite nice."

"Yes, Uncle. Of course." She stood.

"Thank you, Dear." He squeezed her hand as she passed. "This is just like old times, isn't it?"

She nodded silently and was gone, and Iroh's smile was calculating.

She found Zuko alone in the kitchen, putting on a pot of water to boil, and she stopped short.

"We – where's Zhu?"

"He's eating with the crew. I've put water on for Uncle's tea. I knew that he would want some."

"Oh, I – he sent me to do that."

"Then you can tell him it's taken care of."

She nodded. "He said that he wanted ginseng. Do you know where it's kept?"

"In the cabinet there, I believe." He pointed to a cabinet above the counter.

"Oh, I'll get it – then." She walked to it and opened the door and peered up into it. The top shelf was rather high, and she had to stand on her toes to read the tins. "I think it's here."

Zuko came up close behind her, and she froze.

"I can get it." He reached past her, grabbed a tin from the high shelf, and handed it to her.

"Th – thank you."

He nodded and stepped back.

She found a tray and put three cups on it, as well as a teapot and the tin.

Zuko watched her with a wistful look on his face. "I'm sorry." He blurted out suddenly, and she froze again.

He continued, because he did not know how to stop. "I was wrong to _taunt _you like that earlier – on deck. It was – dishonorable and it was – wrong. And I'm sorry. You shouldn't have to make dinner for me for a week." He realized that that sounded critical, and he tried to rectify it. "_Not _that your meal wasn't delicious. It _was_. Really. And I would _love _to have more of you – I mean _it_! I mean your cooking! Food! For me!" He slapped his head. "Oh, spirits." He dropped his hand, sighed, and squeezed his eyes shut. "W – will you go to the opera with me?" His eyes opened wide at his own brazenness as she whirled to look at him. "I mean with _Uncle _and me. Not alone. The two of us. I mean that it _wouldn't _be the two of us. It would be the three of us. You, me, and Uncle. And we would eat beforehand. Not that you would cook. _Not _that your cooking _isn't _good. It is. I said so – earlier. But we would eat at a restaurant." His shoulders slumped. "If you want."

Throughout his speech, her expression had gone from shock to disbelief to cautious hope to delight, and she smiled and nodded at him. "Yes. Thank you, Zuko. I would be very – pleased to go to the opera. Thank you." She said again, unnecessarily.

She turned back to the tea tray, and noticed that her hands were shaking.

She was going to Daejeon Ju.

And that meant that she was going to have to make plans. Very detailed plans.

* * *

Planning was overrated.

Lan had decided, after six hours of intensive thinking and plotting and second-guessing and contingency planning, that she had had enough. That she had thought of every possible outcome, every possible variable, although, of course, that was impossible.

General Jeung of Daejeon Ju might have retired, and left another, more cautious officer in his place. The trees that stretched over the wall of the garrison might have been cut down, recognized as a security risk at last. Or perhaps the secrets kept in the wall safe were not important enough to be deemed worthy of giving Zuko and Iroh clemency.

She sighed and rubbed at her weary eyes. She could not keep doing this – worrying about things that she had no control over.

_But that will keep you alive, _her mind told her. _So will my waterbending and my knife skills. _She told herself peevishly.

They were due into Daejeon Ju the next day, and soon her planning would be over and her _plan _would be put into action.

All of the risks that she had acknowledged were all _very _real, but the biggest risk was the one that she could mitigate the least: Zuko. She had to fool him, and evade him with his knowing, suspicious eyes. She had to make excuses – _plausible _excuses, and she had to escape him in order for her plan to work.

Oh, Uncle Iroh was a bit of a problem as well, and, although he was not merely the jovial old man that he appeared to be, he would think no ill thoughts of her – of that much she was certain, and so she had less to worry about from him.

At least she hoped so.

* * *

"Did you enjoy dinner, Lan?" Iroh smiled at his niece in the dim light of the carriage as it conveyed them to the opera house.

Lan, her thoughts already on her plans for the rest of the evening, pulled herself from her reverie with difficulty. "What? Oh, yes. It was wonderful." She turned to her cousin. "Thank you, Zuko, for taking us. It was very kind."

Zuko, whose eyes had not been able to leave Lan for nearly the entire evening, blushed in the darkness, although the object of his attention could not see it. "No need to thank me. It was my – pleasure."

She smiled at him, and his heart turned over. She looked more beautiful tonight than he had ever seen her. Dressed in a vermilion silk robe, with her hair twisted up simply, she was radiant, and he wondered, again, how he would survive this voyage with her. He had made it through the first eleven days, but that left _thirty _more. How would he continue to live with her, and not give into his desire to _touch _her? How would he live _without _her, when those thirty days were over?

"Oh, there it is, Uncle! Look! It's all lit up! It's beautiful! Isn't it, Zuko?" She smiled at him, and, although her smile was tremulous, it warmed him.

He took a brief look out the window at the opera house, ablaze with lanterns, although he could not have cared less about the building. "Yes, quite beautiful." His eyes were on her again, and he hoped that the darkness hid his interest.

The carriage pulled up to the Opera House and disgorged its occupants, who looked up at the facade, past the billowing crowds.

"It's been _quite _a while since I was last here. It was not long after we had conquered the city." Iroh offered his arm to Lan, who took it.

Zuko fell in behind them as they climbed the stairs.

"Have you the tickets, Zuko?" Iroh asked over his shoulder.

"Yes, Uncle. I have them here." He had sent Jee into the city earlier to procure a box for them.

"And the private parlor for Lady Lan Chi?"

Zuko nodded, although he was frowning. "Yes, although I cannot fathom _why _women have to be separated from the men."

"Will you miss her, Prince Zuko?" Iroh asked, mirth in his voice.

Lan and Zuko both blushed, and Lan looked down at the steps as she climbed them.

"Please do not, Uncle." She said quietly, so that only Iroh heard.

He shrugged.

They came to the doors of the Opera, being held by ushers, and they walked into a long hallway lit by a series of lanterns, their light twinkling merrily through the building.

Zuko came up beside them, and Lan stole a look at him. He was in his dress uniform, which was even more splendid than his everyday uniform, with gold braid, and made of blood-red linen. He was tall and straight-backed and proud, and he was so handsome that she ached.

An usher came up to them and Zuko presented their tickets.

"Follow me, please." The man began to wind his way through the crowd, and the threesome followed him as best they could.

He took them up the stairs to the balcony level and to a private box, and Lan tried to picture, in her mind, the layout of the building and the direction of the garrison, directly to one side and adjoining the opera property.

"I will be back at the end of the first act to convey the lady to her private parlor." Lan had requested a private parlor, she said, because she knew no one in Daejeon Ju, although, in actuality, it was so that she could put her plans into action.

"Thank you. Will you please make certain that a pot of tea is waiting for her – and for us?"

The usher nodded. "Yes, Sir."

The three of them settled in the box, with Lan on one side, Iroh in the center, and Zuko on his uncle's other side.

"Where did you sit when you were here with Fai and Ming, Lan?" Iroh asked.

"Oh, in the main proscenium. We didn't have such splendid seats."

Iroh grasped her hand. "Nothing but the best for my niece and nephew."

Zuko rolled his eyes, and Lan, seeing him, attempted to muster a small smile, but, mostly failing, looked down into her lap. There was so much that could go wrong – she could be caught, or worse, killed.

But her plan _had _to work. Failure was not an option. Zuko's and Iroh's freedom depended upon her success.

But she must not worry. She _needed _to put the anxiety from her. It was truly counter-productive. It took the power of her mind and turned it to something that produced little but an upset stomach and a disquietude in her soul.

Still, that did not mean that she should not go over the plan again in her mind. Her success depended upon two things: a window in the tea parlor, and no guards at the door to General Jeung's office.

And, right now, she prayed for both.

* * *

The first act was dazzling, so much so that Lan Chi almost forgot about the impending task that she had set herself. Almost.

When the curtain came down, she turned to Iroh and Zuko, although she could not bring forth a smile.

"Did you enjoy it, my dear?" Iroh patted her hand.

She nodded. "It was wonderful. Did you think so, Zuko?"

Zuko nodded wordlessly. Lan seemed – strange tonight. Even though he did not know her very well anymore, there was a nervous tension that surrounded her.

"My lady." The usher appeared at the door to the box. "Your private parlor is ready."

She stood. "Thank you." She turned to Iroh and Zuko. "I shall see you for the second act."

"Enjoy the intermission." Iroh smiled at her as she left, and clapped Zuko on the shoulder. "Let's go get our tea, Nephew."

Zuko sighed.

* * *

The door to the private parlor closed behind Lan Chi, leaving her in the small room alone. As soon as the knob clicked, Lan went into action.

She looked at the window in the outside wall, and smiled. The spirits were benevolent tonight.

She ignored the tea on the small table, as well as the cushions, and, pushing them aside, quickly stripped off her robe to reveal her sparring clothes beneath. She pulled a balaclava from under the sparring top, and, tugging it over her head, she settled it so that she had full vision. She pulled the lapels of the sparring top up to cover her entire chest and shoulder, and pronounced herself ready.

She looked down at her feet. She wished that she could have worn her boots, but that would have been very obvious. Her slippers would have to do. She felt on her waist for her waterskin and the small dagger she carried, as well as a pair of spark stones and a very small vial of blasting jelly. She folded her robe carefully, and slipped it within the case of one of the cushions, patting it so it did not appear to be a lumpy bundle.

She opened the window and peered out. Luckily, this room was on the backside of the building, although on the second floor. And she hadn't brought a rope.

_Why didn't you bring a rope? _She asked herself. _Stupid_, s_tupid_, s_tupid_, s_tupid_, s_tupid!_

Well, she was going to have to jump.

_And how will you get back in_?

She jumped over the sill and landed softly on the ground outside the building. _I'll figure that out when I get back._

She crouched low and, keeping in the shadow of the opera house, skirted along the property until she came to the wall that separated it from the garrison. A line of enormous old trees, their limbs gnarled and bent, stretched over the top of the wall, and, with a quick glance around her,she began to scale one of them.

She reached the upper boughs easily, and, hidden in the canopy of leaves, began to make her way out from the trunk to the branches that hung over the garrison wall. She peeked out from the dense foliage to determine whether there were any guards nearby.

She saw some in the distance, near the front gate, but none were coming her way.

Now to find the general's office. She remembered standing within, and looking out on the opera house, so it was obviously on this side of the building.

_But which window is it_? She asked herself, counting five windows along that side of the building.

With one last look around, she dropped silently to the ground. She would simply have to look into each window – which would take more time than she really wanted to invest. The intermission was only three-quarters of an hour long, and she had probably already used nearly a third of that.

No time to dawdle.

She darted to the first window and peered in.

Although it was dark, the door into the room was open, and light from the hallway beyond showed her that it was a small, nondescript office. Not General Jeung's.

She moved stealthily to the next window. It was too dark to see.

She wished, for not the first time, that she was a firebender, but, as that was impossible, she tried the latch on the window, and it slid up without a problem.

"Well, that was easy." She murmured, and stuck her head in.

This room appeared to be a small armory. She stepped in, over the sill, and, going to the door, slid the bolt. Should she be discovered, she wanted the soldiers to have as much trouble as possible getting to their weapons.

She sneaked back outside, closed the window, and continued on to the next.

She could see nothing inside the room thanks to the darkness, and reflected that, should she survive this experience, she would bring along something to light her way in the future. She tried the window, but found it locked.

With a sigh, she slumped against the building. This was not as well planned as she had thought. How could she be certain that this was or _wasn't _the general's office? What should she do – break the window?

She straightened. She _could _break the window. The sound would probably be excessively loud, though.

But how would she get in, otherwise?

She crawled out from the shelter of the wall and towards the front of the garrison. She could neither see nor hear anyone coming towards her, and the lack of light in the room indicated that there was probably no light in the hall beyond, either – meaning no one in that hall.

With a sigh, and a quick prayer to the spirits, she went back over to the window, and, with her elbow, gave the corner of the window glass a sharp rap. A small section cracked, and she hit at it softly until it fell in with a tinkling.

Uncorking her waterkskin, she pulled a thin thread of water from it and sent it through the hole in the glass, and beneath the window latch. With a wave of her hand, the water turned to ice, and she forced it to expand until the top of the latch broke off with a satisfying crack.

She returned the ice to water, and brought it back to her waterskin before lifting the window and stepping over the sill.

The office was much as she remembered it. She could see the shadowy portrait of the Fire Lord behind the desk, and carefully, she picked her way over to it.

She lifted it off the wall and set it on the floor, and could just make out the safe behind it, with its thick lock.

Smiling slightly, she pulled the water from the skin again and, holding the lock with one hand, guided the water within the mechanism until it filled up all the empty spaces inside.

Concentrating, she turned all of the water into ice, and the lock fell apart in her hands.

"Thank you, Mother, for giving me this talent." She whispered.

With the water back in her skin and the pieces of the lock on the desk behind her, she pulled open the safe door and reached inside.

The heavy key ring that General Jeung kept inside was the first thing that greeted her, and she pulled it out and set it on the desk, as well.

There were papers and parchments within the safe, and, indiscriminately, she took them all, and, folding them haphazardly, shoved them into the front of her shirt, where she thought that they would be safest.

She grabbed some papers from the general's desk and shoved them into the safe, and, removing the vial of blasting jelly from her waist, she shook it until a small glop of it fell out.

She did the same on the desk, and, once the scene was set, she took out the spark rocks and set a small corner of the paper in the safe on fire.

She lit another parchment on fire and dropped that onto the desk, and, with one quick look around, she moved across the office. She stopped for a moment and looked at the metal panel covering Avatar Kyoshi's fresco, and gave a deep sigh. She hoped that it would not be damaged, but knew that, balanced against Zuko and Iroh's freedom, she would set fire to it herself.

She stepped back out the window as the flames began to spread, and made her way along the wall of the building and back to the line of trees.

She found a small tree whose branches entwined with one of the large trees on the opera house's property, and climbed it, crossed over to the other side of the wall, and dropped silently to the ground there.

She ran back to the window from which she had come, but, as she had feared, it was too far from the ground for her to attempt an entrance. Time to find an open door or a window on the bottom floor.

She stole along the back side of the building, and, as she turned the corner to the far side, she heard an explosion, and knew that the blasting jelly had done its job, obliterating evidence.

She heard voices up ahead, and bright lights spilled out of an open door.

"Come on, people, places! Intermission is almost over! They just made the announcement! Let's get on stage – _now_!" One voice lifted above the others.

Overlapping voices laughing, chatting, and singing greeted her ears, and she smiled. This was obviously the cast area. She sneaked along the windows and waited until silence fell, and peeked around the corner.

Standing, she entered the room, and the smell of greasepaint and the glaring torchlights greeted her. She crossed the room to the door, and, peering through, saw a long hallway.

She tiptoed into the hall and made her way to a set of doors. They opened suddenly, and she stepped behind one of them, putting her hands up to guard her face. A few of the singers came through, and she realized that that door led to the stage.

_There must be a door that leads to the auditorium_! She waited until the performers disappeared back into the dressing room, and moved stealthily farther down the hallway. She found a doorway at the end of the corridor and eased it open.

It did indeed open into the audience area, but, unfortunately, there were dozens of patrons milling about, chatting and making their way back to their seats.

She closed the door and leaned against it, swearing under her breath. How would she make it back upstairs dressed like _this_?

She made her way back to the dressing room and darted behind a trunk of costumes until the room was clear again. As she stood, her eyes spied something laying on top of the piles of clothes within the trunk, and an idea came to her.

She picked up the mask, and studied it thoughtfully. It was bright blue and white, with stylized fangs, what appeared to be horns jutting from the top, and with a small crown. It was probably an Earth Kingdom water spirit mask, used in one of the productions. Lan smiled. It might be just the thing that she needed.

Donning it, she made her way back to the door to the auditorium, and, opening it quietly, stepped out, tucking all of the things at her waist into her pants.

Although she received a few curious glances, it was apparent that seeing one of the opera performers was not so unusual that anyone stopped her, or appeared overtly interested.

She made her way quickly to the stairs to the balcony level, passing many patrons safely, and headed for her private parlor. She fervently hoped that the usher had not returned for her yet – and, if he had, that he had not reported her disappearance to Iroh and Zuko.

As she reached the top of the stairs, she looked up – directly into the eyes of her cousin.

Her heart skipped a beat, but she stepped aside with a ducking of her head, and continued on.

Fear pumped through her veins as she walked away from Zuko, and she thought that she could feel his eyes on her.

_He can't tell it's you. Keep walking. Your hair is covered. He **does **not know that it is you. He could not see your face._

She ducked behind a corner and, after a few seconds, peered back. He had gone, and she gave a sigh of relief.

She stepped back out into the crush of theater-goers as she heard an usher call out final intermission warning from the end of the hallway.

As she moved along towards the parlor area, the crowds began to thin out, and it was with a huge sense of relief that she reached her own private parlor.

With a quick glance around, she was within and pulling off the mask and balaclava, securing the head covering inside her top.

She retrieved her robe from within the cushion covering, and dressed quickly, glad to have chosen a robe that she could easily don. She straightened her hair and clothing in the vanity mirror, and, looking around the room, she picked up the teapot, poured a small amount into her cup, and the rest out the window.

With a look backwards, she surveyed the room. The mask! What should she do with it?

She gave a half smile. It might come in handy.

She slipped it inside the front of the robe, and, hoping that it did not appear bulky, slipped from the room.

The hallway was now virtually empty, and she made her way back to the theater box. She could hear singing coming from the stage, and knew that the second act had begun. She pushed the curtain back and stepped inside the box.

Zuko and Iroh were already seated, one on either end of the box, and she was forced to take the middle seat.

As she settled down, Zuko turned to her with blazing eyes.

"Where have you been?" He hissed into her ear. "The usher couldn't find you and I went looking!"

She flushed in the dark. "I had to go _relieve _myself, if you must know!" She whispered, and he sat back uncomfortably, and turned towards the stage.

She, too, looked at the stage, and a small smile curved her lips. Served him right for asking her!

* * *

The rest of the opera passed by quickly, and, after the final curtain, the three of them descended the front stairs of the building. Iroh pointed at the garrison, which seemed to be the focus of some hubbub. The fire brigade stood around, and buckets emptied of water were strewn about.

"Hmm. Must have had a fire." Iroh mused.

Lan gave the scene an unconcerned look. "How unfortunate."

* * *

**Author's Note:** I hope that you enjoyed the chapter, and Lan's first real foray into espionage. Also, if you haven't guessed the _real _significance of her first adventure being at the opera house, give it a minute... ; )

I hope that this chapter wasn't too rough around the edges - I had the flu(!) this week, and that made it hard to write. When it rains, it pours!

Thanks SO much for reading, and PLEASE review and tell me what you think!


	33. Chapter 33

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN _NICKELODEON'S AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER_ OR ITS CHARACTERS. I just KNOW that Ozai is Zuko's father!**

* * *

Once back on the ship and in her locked room, Lan removed the papers from her cleavage, and the mask from within the robe. She peered at it for a long moment. It definitely did its job in concealing her identity, and it was _definitely _worth keeping.

She pulled out the bottom drawer of her armoire and concealed it beneath the false floor, and, as she laid each scroll and parchment there as well, she looked them over. Troop strengths. Good. Plans for defending the garrison against attack. A little – too much information. She didn't really want to see the garrison overrun and the soldiers and officers killed. Dispatches about a troop surge requiring soldiers scheduled for three months from now. That might be valuable to General Fong.

The rest of the papers were relatively unimportant, but she concealed them within, as well, and replaced the panel.

She smiled. All in all, a good night's work.

* * *

The next morning, Lan climbed to the deck to find Zuko and Iroh ready to disembark.

"Uncle! Uncle!" She called to him, and he stopped and waited for her to walk to him. "Where are you going?" She gave Zuko a brief look, but he turned to gaze out over the city, spread out in front of him.

"Ah, Lan Chi. Good morning, Dear. Did you sleep well?"

She actually _had _not. Dreams of the garrison going up in flames had plagued her. "Fine, Uncle. And you?"

"Quite well, thank you. And you, Zuko, I forgot to ask how your night was."

Zuko shot Lan a quick look before looking to his uncle. His sleep had been disturbed by unceasing thoughts of Lan Chi in the red robe of the night before. How she had looked luminescent in it – how her milky skin had appeared even whiter against the color, and how she must have looked _beneath _the robe. "Fine, Uncle. Now that we have _all _discovered how _restful _the night was, can we _please _go?"

"Where are you going?" Lan repeated her question of earlier.

"To see General Jeung at the garrison. Would you like to accompany us?"

"Uncle!" Zuko swung around to look Iroh, his face thunderous.

"Don't you want Lan to come, Zuko? She knows General Jeung, after all."

Lan considered Iroh's request. It was chancy going – if anyone saw her last night, she would be in danger. But no one saw her! She was certain of it. And, if she went, she could see the damage.

She gave Zuko a treacly smile. "I would _love _to go, Cousin. Would you _mind _terribly waiting for me to change?"

His eyes narrowed. Not another enclosed carriage ride! How would he _bear _being so close to her? "Fine." He spat. "You have one-quarter of an hour. If you're not ready, we'll leave without you."

Ten minutes later she was back on deck, in a chartreuse green robe and matching hair comb.

Zuko, who had been pacing, stopped to look at her, and colored. She was beautiful – as usual.

Iroh noticed his regard, and smiled, giving Lan Chi his arm. "Shall we go?"

Once inside the carriage, Lan smiled at Zuko, who turned away pointedly to look out the window. She blushed in embarrassment, and stared at her hands, clasped in her lap.

They arrived at the garrison, and Zuko jumped down and walked to the gate. Iroh gave a small sigh, alighted, then turned to assist Lan.

"Thank you, Uncle."

"I apologize for Zuko. He has – changed. So much."

"You don't need to apologize. He had been through – quite a bit." She sighed. "We all have been."

He tucked her arm into his. "Perhaps it was a mistake – our escorting you to Tao Xing."

"No." She shook her head with a small smile. "Nothing could ever make me regret spending this time with you."

"You know – we will not forsake you after your marriage – no matter what the Fire Lord demands."

"Thank you, Uncle. That is – a great comfort."

"Well, that's preposterous!" Zuko stood at the closed gate, arguing with one of the guards.

"I am sorry, Sir, but the garrison is off limits to civilians." The man shook his head.

"Do I _look _like a civilian to you?" Zuko demanded, pointing at his uniform.

"Nevertheless, no unauthorized personnel."

"I'm _not _unauthorized. I am the _Crown Prince_!"

Sparks flew from Zuko's hands, and Iroh put a hand on his shoulder. "Let me handle this, if I may, Prince Zuko."

Zuko growled, but stepped back. He stole a look at Lan, who stood frozen to the spot, her eyes wide. A wave of shame washed over him. Why must she _always _see him at his worst? Ill-tempered or _powerless_. Why was he powerless in his _own_ kingdom? And why must she _always _see him rescued by Uncle?

Iroh, with his blustery good temper and, thanks to the magic of his name, had better luck with the guard, who agreed to apply to his superior for their entry.

"See, Zuko," Iroh smiled when the guard walked away. "One need only be personable."

Zuko glared at him. "I do not _need _to be _personable_. I am the Prince of the Fire Nation! These men should be scraping their nose on the ground when I approach!"

"That sounds quite uncomfortable, Nephew."

Lan had to stifle a giggle, and Zuko turned angry eyes on her.

She straightened and tried to keep a straight face.

Several minutes passed until the guard returned, with another man accompanying him. He unlocked the gate with a somber face, and allowed them entry. The second man bowed to them.

"Please, General Iroh, Your Highness, my lady. Follow me." He led them into the building, and they passed through halls familiar to Lan from her visit with Fai and Ming Yi.

They were taken to a small reception room, where tea awaited them.

"Ooh! Tea!" Iroh rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "Lan, would you like to pour?"

"Of course, Uncle." She sat at the small table, in the manner she had been taught, and poured three cups. Iroh took his gratefully, but Zuko paced the room.

"Zuko, would you like tea?" She asked.

He turned to her hostilely. "No, I don't want any _stupid _tea. This _isn't _a social visit! I want to talk to the general and find out if he has any clue on the Avatar!"

She blinked in surprise at his vitriol. "Of course, Zuko." She stared down into her own cup of tea, and Iroh shot his nephew a disapproving look.

Zuko gave a grunt of annoyance and resumed pacing.

Iroh polished off most of the tea by the time General Jeung came in. The general was much as Lan Chi remembered – a round body and florid face, but, today, his face was creased with worry, and Lan felt a pang of guilt.

"Iroh. How wonderful to see you." Iroh scrambled to his feet, and they bowed to one another. "I am sorry to leave you on your own for so long."

"Nonsense, Chang-Su. I enjoyed the tea."

Jeung smiled briefly. "I thought that you would." He turned to Zuko and bowed low. "Your Highness. It is a privilege to welcome you to Daejeon Ju."

Zuko was mollified by the general's obeisance. "Thank you, General."

He turned to Lan. "And my lady Lan Chi. What a pleasure it is to see you again. Do I have you to owe for bringing General Iroh and Prince Zuko to our fair city?"

She smiled at him, and guilt squeezed her heart. "I simply _had _to see the opera again, General. It was as wonderful as I remembered."

"I am glad that you enjoyed it." He turned back to Iroh. "My word, Iroh, how long has it been since we last saw one another?"

"Thirty years, at least. And Jing-Su? How is retirement for him?"

Jeung waved a weary hand. "He is retired in name only. My older brother never stops." He sighed. "I could use his advice today."

Iroh looked concerned. "What has happened? Is it something to do with the fire brigade that we saw last night?"

Jeung looked somber. "Unfortunately, yes. There was a break-in last night, and the miscreant set fire to my office."

Shock crossed Iroh's face. "How horrible! Was anything taken?"

General Jeung shrugged. "I'm actually not certain. The thief broke into my safe – perhaps expecting there to be things of value in there. Completely disassembled the lock! There was nothing inside, of course, other than some military papers – and those he set on fire!"

"Perhaps in retaliation for not finding anything valuable?" Lan latched onto the general's theory. If he did not suspect that _secrets _were the target, that would be best.

He shrugged. "Perhaps. He also set my desk on fire."

"How destructive." Iroh murmured.

Lan gave a start, as if a sudden idea came to her, although the thought had been on her mind since the night before. "The fresco of Avatar Kyoshi was not harmed, was it?"

The general smiled. "No. Luckily. It was protected by the metal panel. The wall around it is scorched, however. It will have to be re-plastered."

Zuko, who had been looking out a window, turned. "Did you not suspect that the military papers were the object of the break-in?"

Damn suspicious Zuko!

The general looked surprised. "But they were left behind – burned to ashes."

"_Something _was left behind burned to ashes. But was it _those_ papers? Or others?" Zuko asked pointedly.

The general looked thoughtful. "You're right, of course."

Iroh nodded. "My nephew has a point. Was there any sensitive information in those papers?"

Lan Chi groaned silently. Why did her relatives have to be _so _perspicacious?

"Yes, of course. Troop numbers. Strategy."

"Perhaps you ought to report their possible theft." Iroh continued.

The general nodded. "Yes. Yes, I should." He sighed. "This makes the break-in much worse. I'm afraid that I will have to cut short my visit with you. I must needs deal with this."

"Of course, of course." Iroh nodded.

"General, before you go..." Zuko stopped him. "I am searching for the Avatar. Have you ever heard any rumors of a sighting in the area?"

The general shook his head. "I'm afraid not. But there is a major stationed here who has been here _much _longer than I. I shall send him to you. He may be of more assistance. Now, if you'll excuse me." With a bow to all of them, the general left.

Iroh shook his head after the door closed. "That is troubling. A possible theft of military information."

"An Earth Kingdom spy, undoubtedly." Zuko turned again to the window, looking lost in thought.

Lan Chi's shoulders were slumped. She had almost gotten away completely undetected. "Uncle, would it trouble you greatly if I returned to the ship? I find myself – fatigued."

Zuko shot her a look, almost as if he guessed her thoughts, and she blushed.

"I understand finding the Avatar is not uppermost in your concerns, Cousin, and you find it _boring_. _Perhaps _you should go." Zuko said bitterly.

"Oh, no, Zuko. Please do not misunderstand me. I really – am – tired..." She trailed off, having no other excuse.

He gave a curt nod. "Let me escort you to the carriage."

"That's really not necessary." She neither wanted to take him from his task nor wanted his discerning eye on her.

"I would not let you wander unescorted through a garrison full of men."

"I can defend myself, Zuko." She retorted.

"I will escort you."

Iroh gave an approving nod. "Thank you, Zuko."

She gave a deep sigh. "I shall see you back at the ship, Uncle."

They passed through the building, and, as they emerged into the courtyard, Zuko held out his arm for her to take. She slid her hand within the circle of his arm, and, although she had resisted his escort, just the simplest touch gave her chills.

As if reading her mind, Zuko looked at her, and she stumbled. His hand grabbed hers, and he stopped.

"Are you all right, Lan?"

"Yes, I –" she smiled at him. "I'm just a bit clumsy."

He nodded and they started again.

She felt compelled to talk. "Zuko, I – I don't find your quest boring – or unimportant. I really just – want to go back to the ship."

"Be frank, Lan. You have no vested interest in the Avatar being found."

She stopped, and he did the same. They stared at each other.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Your honor does not rest on finding the Avatar. Mine does."

"You think that is _not _important to me?"

"Why should it be?"

"Because it is _important _to you!"

He gave a bitter laugh. "Our priorities have not overlapped for quite a while."

She blushed a deep, angry red, and snatched her arm from his. "If you think that, Zuko, then we have nothing more to discuss. Go back to your search and concern yourself no more with _me _or _my_ concerns." She began to stomp off, but he stopped her.

"What do you mean?" It was his turn to ask that, his hand around her wrist.

"I won't discuss this with you!" She didn't know what she would say, anyway. It was true that their concerns diverged. _His _uppermost concern was to be restored to the succession. Hers was his safety.

He dropped her arm. "We won't discuss it _here_ or now, but we _will _discuss it, Lan."

"No, we won't. And you can't make _me_!" She stormed off, but Zuko stood, watching her, until she entered the carriage.

* * *

She fumed the entire journey back to the ship, and her anger did not dissipate once she was there. In her room, she ripped the robe from her body and the comb from her hair. That stupid, stupid, stupid _man_! Just because she did not _hang _on his every word and action he thought her indifferent.

Indifferent! She was _very _far from indifferent to him! She could not be _less _indifferent.

She felt like throwing something.

She stood in the middle of her room in only her breast bindings and drawers, and attempted to calm herself. She closed her eyes, and the solution came to her.

Waterbending.

She opened her eyes, looking for her pitcher of water. She had taken it to the kitchen before going above deck.

She would have to use sea water.

She walked to the window and opened it.

The ocean was there, far below. She had never pulled water so far.

With a deep breath, and closing her eyes again, she felt her essence reach out the window and down to the water. She could almost feel the coolness of the water as she began to coil it up to her, and she could _feel _it as it slithered up the side of the ship and into the room.

She felt its silkiness as it wrapped itself around her hand, and she opened her eyes and smiled.

The water winked at her in the sun, and she stepped back from the window. The water slid up her arm, almost possessing a life of its own. It caressed her skin as it moved across her chest, above her breast bindings, and she smiled.

She pulled it from her skin and it danced in the air. She shifted, and it mimicked her.

She played with the water for fully half an hour, sending it flying and floating and shimmering through the air. She turned it into ice and back to water, and into mist, and back into water.

It was joyous and wondrous, and it was _hers_. Of all the people that she had ever met in her life, _she _was the only one who could waterbend.

And she loved it.

* * *

"Well, well, Lan, I thought that I would find you in here." Iroh walked into the kitchen, where Lan was eating a late lunch.

She had decided, not many days after coming aboard, that solo dining was horrible, so, on occasions when she found herself at loose ends for meals, she had begun eating in the kitchen with Zhu, the cook, and Taxiao, Zuko's pumacat. Both seemed happy to see her – Zhu for the company, and Taxiao for the inevitable scraps that she would receive.

She smiled back at her uncle. "Would you like lunch?"

He patted his stomach. "No, no. Zuko and I ate at the garrison."

"Oh. Where – where is he?" She tried to be nonchalant, poking at the rice in her bowl with the chopsticks.

"The major told him of an old man who lived about a quarter of a day's ride outside the city. Not old enough to be the Avatar, but old enough to, perhaps, know something of him. He's taking Jee and a few men with him and riding out. They should be back in the morning."

Lan was concerned immediately. "Near the disputed territories?"

_Disputed territories _was frequently the term given, by the Fire Nation, to the areas near any Earth Kingdom controlled land. These regions were frequently the scenes of battles, skirmishes, and guerrilla attacks. And the thought that Zuko, _her _Zuko, the _Crown Prince _of the Fire Nation, was willingly going to one of those areas, was terrifying to Lan.

"I'm afraid so."

She stood, her lunch forgotten. "Uncle, he _can't _go! He simply – _can't_! It's _far _too dangerous. Spirits! He's the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation! Do you know what would happen if he were captured?"

"I know far too well what would happen. He won't listen. He believes, if there is a chance that the Avatar might be there, he must take all reasonable risk."

She sputtered. "Well, talk to him _again_! He'll listen to you! You're his – his _advisor_, for pity's sake!"

"I have made all the arguments that I can, Lan. Perhaps _someone _else can talk sense into him."

She looked at him thoughtfully. "I will."

She fairly ran from the room and to the bridge, where Jee was instructing one of the other sailors in tasks that needed to be completed while he was gone. "Jee!" She interrupted him. "Where is Prince Zuko?"

"At the stables, I believe, my lady."

With quick thanks, she made her way below deck to the stables. She knew where the stables were, although she had never actually gone in. She was rather scared of rhinos – they were much too big for her comfort.

The stables, being belowdecks, were always in semi-darkness, which was probably unpleasant for the animals, but, thanks to the large fans at the end of the ship, it was always relatively cool, and smelled of sweet hay. Pang, the stablehand, was very conscientious about keeping the stalls mucked out, and so, for the most part, the only malodor was the smell of the animals themselves. She rushed in to the semi-darkness, and saw Zuko's silhouette at the end of the row of stables.

She approached him, conscious of the nearness of the rhinos, and realized that he was standing at the head of an – _ostrich horse_! A very familiar, black ostrich horse.

"Is that – _Xuan_? Uncle's horse?"

He glanced at her briefly. "He's my horse now. Uncle gave him to me for my fourteenth birthday."

"Oh." Now that her momentary confusion was cleared, she turned her mind to what was uppermost. "You can't go." She blurted out.

"Can't go where?"

"To the disputed territories."

He sighed, and stroked Xuan's head. "Uncle has been talking to you."

"No! Well, yes, but that is _not _why I am here – not exactly."

"He's being a missish old woman. I'll be fine."

"Zuko! _I _have traveled near the disputed territories! You cannot be _thinking _of going! It's far too dangerous."

"I can and I will. What do you _care_, anyway?"

"Why are you doing this? Just so that I'll admit that I – I _care_ about you?! Which I _don't_!" She added hotly.

"This has nothing to do with that. I must find the Avatar, and he's not likely to be sitting in the middle of a Fire Nation colony. Besides, what do I care if you – care?"

She frowned at him. "I don't!"

"Then you shouldn't _care_ if I am going to the disputed territories!"

"Of course I do! You – you're my – cousin! I don't want to see you in danger!"

"Well, since you're not coming, you won't – _see_ me in danger, then."

She fisted her hands. "Stop it!"

"Stop what?"

"Stop _torturing_ me!"

"_I'm_ torturing _you_? You're torturing me!"

"_What_? How can you say that?"

"You're here – every day! Every day I have to – to _see_ you!"

"Do you hate me so much that you can't bear to _see_ me?"

"_Hate_ you?! You stupid – _girl_! Get out!"

"You're throwing me out of the _stables_?" She was indignant.

"I can throw you out of anywhere I want! _I_ command this ship!" He pointed imperiously at the exit.

"Well, you don't command me! I am _not_ –"

Her words were cut short when he pulled her to him by the shoulder of her robe and silenced her with a hard, long kiss. She was momentarily flummoxed, but, then, all of the frustration and love that she had bottled for over two years burst forth, and she kissed him back with a fervor born of those emotions.

Her arms went around his neck as he peppered her face with kisses. "Zuko." She groaned, and he found her lips again, his hands going to her waist.

Her mind was bursting with thoughts and sensations. He was kissing her! He was actually kissing her! He loved her! He really still loved her! Her hands came up to cradle his face, and her fingers touched the rough, puckered skin of his scar.

He pushed her away suddenly, and she stumbled back, catching onto the front of one of the stalls. He stood staring at her, his breathing heavy, in the half-light of the stables, the animals shuffling around them incongruously. Her own eyes were huge in her face, and her expression equal parts shock and uncertainty.

A cleared throat came from the doorway, and they both looked at Pang, the stablehand, standing with a bale of hay in his hands. "B – begging your pardon, your highness, and – and – my lady, I wanted to feed the rhinos before you took them out. And Xuan, too."

Zuko nodded at him, and Lan, with one last look at her cousin, fled.

Pang waited until Lan passed by him, giving him a hunted look, before he came in, his gait slow, from both the weight of the hay, and his desire to be anywhere _other _than where he was.

"Did – did you see anything?" Zuko asked, his voice severe.

"Wh – what could I have seen, Highness?" Besides his prince kissing a _very _engaged young woman?

"Nothing. And you will _say _nothing." He, too, brushed past the stablehand, and exited.

* * *

As Zuko stomped through the halls leading to his bedchamber, he mentally chastised himself. Stupid, stupid, _stupid_! Why did he kiss her? Why did she kiss him back? For a brief, delirious moment, he was thirteen again, with a shining future ahead of him. And then, her fingers were on his scar, and the present rushed back to him in sickening clarity. A present full of loneliness, with uncertainty about the future. A future _without _Lan. A future in which she wasn't his.

She _wasn't_ his anymore! She belonged to some other man. Some other man who would kiss her lips and touch her skin and hear her breathe his name...

Flames screamed into the air as Zuko gave voice to his frustration.

* * *

Lan ran back towards her own room, her hand pressed against her lips, her lunch long forgotten. Oh, _why _had she kissed him? Why didn't she push him away? And why had he kissed her?

And what was she going to do now? She was engaged to be married! _To a stranger_, a voice in her head reminded her. _Not to someone you love. Not to someone who loves you._

But what did that matter? She couldn't marry Zuko. She wouldn't marry Zuko. All that she could do for him now was try to save his life, and his freedom.

She came skidding to a halt. He was probably going to still go to the disputed territories. She was certain that she hadn't changed his mind – why did she ever think that she could? His mania for the Avatar was stronger than whatever he felt for her.

She drew in a deep breath, and said a brief prayer for the spirits to watch over him and bring him back to the ship safely.

To bring him back to her safely.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I hope that you enjoyed the first kiss between Lan Chi & Zuko. Indifference has gone out the window. Let's see how long they can keep their hands off each other...

Oh, I forgot to address the 800 pound elephant/gorilla in the room, which is the revelation at the end of part 1 of "The Search," which was released this week. If you haven't read it or don't want to be spoiled, stop reading now. But please review,

Okay, if you've come this far down the page, you must know about the revelation at the end of part 1 of "The Search," in which Zuko discovers, via an old love letter from his mother to her ex, Ikea (just kidding, it's Ikem), telling him that Zuko is his son and not Ozai's! WHAT? ARE YOU KIDDING ME, BRYKE? SERIOUSLY? That was my reaction, and it still is. I think it is a bad idea, and I hope to heaven that it will turn out to be untrue. Why? For SO many reasons, and I will tell you only SOME of them. A) It gives Ozai an easy "out" for hating Zuko. It's so much more deliciously complex if he hates Zuko if Zuko is his flesh and blood. B) Zuko was the intersection, if you will, of the AVATAR'S (Roku) bloodline and the FIRE LORD'S (Sozin) bloodline, and, as Iroh said, it was up to Zuko to cleanse the Fire Nation of its sins, so to speak. If he is NOT Ozai's son, then AZULA is the one who should restore the honor of the Fire Nation. C) It makes me lose respect for Ursa. If she was not a virgin (and knocked up by her boyfriend) (!), she should have told Ozai. It is unfair of HER to pass Zuko off as her husband's. D) it makes Zuko no blood relation to the Fire Lord's ruling family, and therefor he is NOT be the rightful ruler; Azula is. E) Ursa left Zuko in the care of a man NOT actually his father. She should have taken Zuko with her. F) "Remember this, Zuko. No matter how things may seem to change, never forget who you are." ANYONE REMEMBER URSA SAYING THAT? From the end of Zuko Alone? How the HELL can he "never forget" who he is IF HE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW WHO HIS REAL FATHER IS?

And, one more thing. Ursa, in the letter, writes as though she had already revealed Zuko's paternity in an earlier letter. If Ozai had indeed gotten hold of ALL the letters she had sent in the past, wouldn't he already know that Zuko was not his?

Anyway, those are only SOME of the problems I have with this tawdry revelation. So help me, if we fans read something like that in a Zuko fanfic, we'd rip the author a new one (probably). I hope and pray that it will be a mistake.

Back to MY fic (in which Zuko is Ozai's son). If it turns out that Zuko really is NOT Ozai's, it will come out in my fic, sooner or later. MUCH later.

Shameless plea ahead: I would LOVE to be among the top-reviewed Zuko fics on fanfiction, so please, please, please review and make me happy! I'll even give you a smiley face to show you how happy I can be! : )


	34. Chapter 34

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN _NICKELODEON'S AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER_ OR ITS CHARACTERS. I'm just part of Zuko's roof repair team...**

* * *

It was one of the longest nights of Lan Chi's life – for so many reasons. Primarily, she was worried about Zuko's safety in the disputed territories. She had no doubts that he and Jee and the two others that had accompanied them could defend themselves against a _small _group of soldiers; her fear was that they would stumble upon a battalion, and then all would be lost. She did not know what she would do were he captured. She'd would probably do almost anything for his safety – even if that meant jeopardizing her own safety. Hopefully, it would not come to that.

However, that was not all that was plaguing her. Zuko's kiss was swimming in her mind, and she chastised herself for thinking of that at _all _while he was in danger. But how could she _not _think on it? She loved him; she loved him as much as she ever did, and she wanted nothing more than to throw herself into his arms and never, ever leave.

But she couldn't do that. She had a mission to complete, and a fiancé. _But why can't you just – forget all that – just for a little while_? She asked herself. _Why don't you just give yourself something to remember – during all those years to come?_

She couldn't. She simply – couldn't. The kiss was a mistake. And he _knew _that it was a mistake. That was why he had pushed her away. He had been overcome with frustration, and _that _was why he had kissed her. No other reason.

_He kissed you because he loves you. And you love him._

It didn't matter. They couldn't do that again. If they became involved, she would never be able to leave him. And he would never let her.

_So why do you have to leave him? Stay with him. Run away with him._

But Zuko would never choose her over his father. He never had, so why did she think that he would, _now_?

As a result of the turmoil within her, she barely slept, and spent much of the night idly and fruitlessly trying to waterbend. Her element would not obey her, and her frustration grew.

"You're _trying _too hard." She murmured to herself as the water she was trying to manipulate fell to the floor in a puddle.

She had to try to calm her disquietude. She drew in a deep breath and tried to center herself – tried to find serenity, but her anxiety would not leave, and she finally, with a grunt of frustration, and with concentration, managed only to pull the water off the floor and out the window.

No fancy waterbending for her tonight.

She flopped onto her bed. She wanted Zuko back, and she wanted to be gone from Daejeon Ju. They had already tarried here too long for her peace of mind. She felt as if the secrets that she had stolen were broadcasting their whereabouts to General Jeung, and that he would burst in at any minute to retrieve them and arrest her.

She sighed and closed her eyes. She was not cut out to be a spy.

* * *

She was awakened by sounds coming from the deck far below her window, and the lurching of the ship as it pulled out of its berth.

She sat up with a jerk, and looked around, confused. It was daylight, and the ship was departing! She had fallen asleep, and they were leaving Daejeon Ju.

Had Zuko returned?

She jumped up and ran to the window. They were definitely in motion! That _must _mean that Zuko had returned safely!

She ran to her armoire and pulled out the first thing that she could lay her hands on, which was a simple black robe edged in blue. She tore off her nightshift and sloppily bound her breasts. She had to see him – had to make sure that he was safe.

Of course he's safe, you ninny! Uncle wouldn't leave him behind!

Still she took only a minute to wash her face and brush her teeth, and, after securing her hair into a messy chignon, she dashed from her chamber and down the steep stairs to the deck.

She burst out into the bright sunshine, and, squinting, saw Iroh by the railing, watching Daejeon Ju as it receded.

"Uncle!" She ran to him, and he turned. "Is – is Zuko – I mean, has he returned? Is he well?"

Iroh smiled and pointed to Zuko on the other end of the deck, giving orders to one of the men on deck.

Lan sagged with relief. "Thank the spirits."

Iroh chuckled, and she turned back to him, and blushed.

"I – I – he_ is_ my cousin, you know. I am – entitled to worry about him."

"Of course you are."

She smiled at Zuko, far from her, knowing that he could not see her expression.

She laid a hand on her uncle's arm. "_Please _don't tell him. I – I don't want him to get the wrong idea."

"I won't. Of course."

She nodded and shot Zuko an anxious look. She did not want him to see her. "I'm going back to my chamber. I will see you – later, Uncle."

She hurried off, but, unfortunately, she had not been unseen by Zuko.

The prince, who had, true to his predictions, been quite safe while near the disputed territories, and who had found the old man he had sought to be nothing more than a meek old farmer, saw his cousin as she talked with Iroh, and watched her beautiful, animated face as she smiled at the older man, and as she talked to him, and he admitted, to himself, that he was still in love with her. That he was irrevocably, undeniably, hopelessly, in love with her – and that he probably always would be.

And, then, the unwanted thought that she wasn't his – the thought that tormented him day after day, poured over him like cold water.

He started after her, an idea forming in his head. An unformed idea that his anguished soul thought would be honorable, and proper.

She entered the tower, and he broke into a run. "Lan!"

She froze and turned slowly to him, her eyes darting to the door closing behind him that leaving them alone in the corridor, shielded from prying eyes.

Her eyes flickered to his uncertainly. "Z – Zuko. I – you're back. Safely."

He nodded. "I wanted to talk to you."

"Oh. Well. Fine. Talk – then."

"It's about yesterday. About what happened between us."

She looked down at the floor, her face coloring.

"I – I wanted to say that – I'm – sorry. For kissing you."

She looked up at him, her face blanched and her expression tortured. "Wh – what?"

"I'm sorry. I – shouldn't have – kissed you. It was wrong and – dishonorable. And I know that you don't – belong to me – maybe you never did, and, even if you did, it was a long time ago, and –"

"You're _apologizing_? For kissing me?" She seemed dazed.

"It was a mistake. And I shouldn't have done it. And – as I said, I'm sorry."

Her face reddened, and she grew angry, even though she had come to the same conclusion about the kiss. "It was a _mistake_? What – you didn't _mean _to do it? You slipped?"

"No. no. I – I just mean –"

She held up her hand. "Don't. Just – don't." She started to stomp away, but stopped, and turned to him again. "And you're right. I _don't _belong to you. And I never did. Because I am _not _a possession. I – I was hoping that you knew that. But I don't see why I thought that, and..."

Flames came from his hands. "I know that you're not a possession! I didn't mean that!"

"What did you mean, then?" She stamped her foot and ignored his outburst.

"I just meant that – I have no – hold on you! You don't owe me anything. What we had – it's over, and – you're marrying someone else!"

"Well, it's not as if I have a choice!"

"Yes, you do! You – you..." He fumbled for an answer.

"What? I could _what_?"

"Refuse to marry him!"

"I'm supposed to _refuse _to marry the man that the Fire Lord – that your _father – _has _decreed_ that I marry?! Is that what you're saying?"

"Yes! No! I – I don't know!" Defying his father was anathema – but so was marrying Lan to a stranger. "I don't want you to marry him! Is that what you wanted to hear?"

She shut her mouth abruptly, and, when she spoke, her tone was quiet. "Why?"

He was silent for a long moment. "I – I don't want to see you – unhappy. And I think that – you will be. That's all." He felt that, perhaps, he should qualify that statement, in case she misunderstood. "I – I wouldn't want Azula to have to marry someone she didn't love, either."

"_Azula_? Y – you think of me the same way you think of _Azula_?" She stammered.

_No, of course not!_ He wanted to scream - but he couldn't tell her that. Perhaps a small lie would help him. "Well, yes. Of course."

She glared at him. "_You hate Azula_!"

"No, I don't!" Just another little lie.

"Yes, you do! And she's mean! And horrible! And you just compared me to her!"

Zuko shifted his eyes nervously. "I – I didn't mean to insult you."

"Well, you did!" She stomped from the hallway. Zuko stared after her, and groaned.

Why hadn't he just kept his mouth shut?

* * *

Lan Chi leaned on the railing and watched as the ship made its way towards a peninsula jutting out into the water. "How long until we dock, Uncle?" She asked, the wind blowing a lock of hair into her face.

Iroh smiled at her. "Not long. A few hours."

"Good. I should like to feel earth beneath my feet again."

"Aren't you satisfied with being on the ocean, my little duck?"

She smiled at him. "Yes. But this ship has felt a bit too – confining lately."

"You are still angry at Zuko." It was a statement rather than a question.

"No, I am not." She denied it with a shake of the head. "I just think that we are better apart from one another. Which," she acknowledged, "is rather difficult onboard a ship of this size."

"And you won't tell me _why _you and he fought?"

She looked at him unblinkingly. "Pick a topic, and you can be certain that we have quarreled about it."

Iroh sighed. "I wish that you would not."

She drew a deep breath. "So do I. But we do not mix well anymore, I'm afraid. Like oil and – water."

"Or fire and water?" He gave her a gentle smile.

"One destroys the other."

"Is that what you fear?"

She shook her head, and turned back to the ocean. "There is little that I fear anymore, Uncle."

"Land ho!" The helmsman, who had gone up to the crow's nest, confirmed that Nanzhou was in sight.

"You've been here before. Is that right?" Iroh asked.

"Oh, yes. Uncle Fai and I were here twice. It's quite a nice town. Colonel Na was in charge of the garrison at that time. I do not know if he still is."

"I suppose that we shall find out."

She sighed. "I should probably accompany you. Colonel Na – if he is still commander here – will most likely remember me. That may make it easier for Zuko."

_And for me_, Lan thought.

"That may not be necessary. The Dragon of the West still carries some influence."

She laid a hand over his. "I'm certain that it does. It does with me, after all."

A voice cleared behind them, and Lan Chi stiffened and turned to look again at the sea.

"Uncle, Jee tells us that we will dock just a bit before dark." Zuko gave Lan's back a brief glance. "We shall go to the garrison tomorrow, since it will be too late tonight."

"Splendid, Zuko. Lan and I were just discussing that. She looks forward to seeing Colonel Na again."

Lan whirled to face her uncle, and her face set into a dangerous look.

"Oh." Zuko's voice was flat. "Do you – know him, my lady?" He was careful to keep his address formal and distant.

She turned to face her perfidious cousin. "Yes. I am familiar with Colonel Na. Of course, he may not be in command of the garrison any longer."

"She would be pleased to make introductions, wouldn't you, Lan, my dear?"

She gave her uncle a brittle smile. "Of course, Uncle. Anything that I can do to help."

Even though Zuko wanted to give her a setdown and say that he needed no one to help him gain access to one of his own father's garrisons, he knew, from experience, that, frequently, military men cared little for his pedigree.

He gave her a small bow instead. "Thank you, my lady. That is very kind."

She stole a look at him, and nodded. "It is my – pleasure, your highness. T – to serve the Fire Nation, I mean."

Zuko blushed, something which did not escape his uncle's attention. "I – I should go and see to final preparations for – docking." He sketched a quick bow to Iroh, and then Lan Chi. "Uncle. My lady. I am – your servant." he mumbled, and was gone.

She drew in a deep breath, and Iroh shot her a sage look. "How long will you punish him for whatever transgression he is guilty of?"

"You are mistaken, Uncle. I am not punishing him. I do not have that sort of – power. Over him." She added.

He chuckled. "Surely you do not believe that."

"And why in the world would you imagine that I have power over the crown prince of the Fire Nation?"

He squeezed her hand where it lay on the railing. "Because he is still in love with you." With a beatific smile, he left her staring after him with startled eyes.

Zuko rose, as he always did, with the sun. It was a rather common occurrence amongst firebenders, but, with Zuko, it was more than habit – it was compulsory.

Uncle Iroh did not suffer such compulsion, though. Although he rose relatively early each day, he still slept at least two hours later than Zuko.

On this morning, however, he rose only thirty minutes after the prince, and, indeed, interrupted Zuko in the midst of the latter's daily ritual of meditation and firebending. Dawn was often when Zuko felt that his bending was at its zenith – when the warmth of the sun bathed the world in its benevolent light.

Coming upon Zuko seated in a cross-legged position, his hands clasped in front of him, his demeanor reminded Iroh so much of a young Ozai. "You look so like your father."

Zuko opened one eye, but instead of remonstrating with his uncle, he gave him a small smile. "Thank you, Uncle."

Iroh settled down beside his nephew. "When Ozai was young, you know, younger than you, he and I used to meditate together every day. Before I was married. And before I went away to war."

"Was it very odd to have a brother so much – younger than you?"

Iroh laughed. "Well, I must admit that, when Father and Mother told me that I would have a younger brother or sister, I was – surprised – to say the least." He smiled sadly. "And, as you know, my mother – your grandmother, Ilah, did not survive long after Ozai's birth." He shook his head ruefully. "That was a devastating blow to Father. He loved Mother – greatly. I think, sometimes, that he never forgave Ozai for taking her away. It was not Ozai's fault, of course, but I think that, every time Azulon looked at your father, he saw all that he had lost, instead of all that he had gained."

"That was why Grandfather seemed so harsh with Father, wasn't it?"

"I believe so. And Ozai wanted so much to please your grandfather, and it seemed that he never – could." _History repeats_, Iroh told himself sadly.

"It seems as if Father and I have more in common than I thought."

Iroh laid a comforting hand on Zuko's arm and decided to change the subject. "Lan Chi says Nanzhou is quite a lovely town."

"Did she tell you that over dinner?" Zuko asked bitterly.

Since the incident at Daejeon Ju, Lan had categorically refused to eat any meals with Zuko, and, although she took most of her meals in the kitchen, the night before, Zuko had skipped dinner altogether, and she had eaten with Iroh in the dining room.

Iroh sighed. "I do not know why the two of you insist upon continuing to torture one another."

Zuko looked at him sharply. _Torture_ – that was the word that they themselves had used – why did they _torture _each other so?

"We do not see eye to eye on – anything, I suppose."

"I find that hard to believe. You loved each other for so long."

He shrugged and scrambled to his feet. "That was a _long_ time ago."

"So, again, I ask you, Zuko, if you want to argue with her for the rest of the journey, or avoid her altogether? I grow tired of speaking to you about this, by the way."

"I don't know what to say to you, Uncle. When I am with her, I _say _the wrong thing. I _do _the wrong thing. I _inflame _her in _some _way."

Iroh chuckled, and Zuko glared at him.

"What's so funny?" He asked his uncle.

"Well – you said _inflamed_. And you are a firebender."

Zuko flushed an angry red. "Uncle, I'm being _serious_! I don't know what to do with her! She was angry at me for beating her at sparring –"

"She was angry with you for pinning her to the ground like she was a chickenhog you were wrestling –"

"_Whatever_!" He interrupted him with a hand held up. "So I _took _her to _dinner _and to the _opera_, and she was _happy_, and now, I've made her angry again, and – and I don't know what to do to make it up to her!" Flames appeared briefly at his fists. "If I had hair, I would _rip _it out in frustration!"

"Have you tried apologizing to her?"

"Yes! That was what made her angry in the first place!"

"Hmm." Iroh stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Women are – difficult to understand sometimes."

Zuko was silent, and Iroh continued. "_Perhaps_ – if you did something _nice _for her..." He trailed off.

"Like what? Throw myself overboard?"

Iroh chuckled again. "I'm not certain that would solve your problem. She would probably be angry at you for that, as well."

Zuko sighed heavily and sat down again. "I don't _want _to fight with her anymore."

"Well, do not, then."

"I'm trying _not _to!"

"Hmm - back to doing something nice for her, then. What does she like?"

"Fighting." The prince grumbled.

"Runs in the family, I would say." He cast Zuko a meaningful look. "Is there anything else?"

He shrugged. "She used to like – archery."

"You _could_ erect an archery target on deck."

"She might lose her arrows in the sea."

"Perhaps she's a _good _archer." Iroh suggested hopefully.

He sighed. "I'm certain that she is. She does _everything _well." He thought of her walk, and the way her hips swayed as she moved. She certainly _walked _well. "I suppose that I could do that." He was dissatisfied with that idea, though.

"What else does she like?"

"I don't know. She always liked riding."

"Oh! Yes. You could gift her with Xuan!" Iroh was pleased with himself.

Zuko was aghast. "Absolutely not. She was _always _terrified of him. Besides, Xuan is _my _horse."

"Oh." Iroh snapped his fingers. "You could buy her a horse of her _own_."

Zuko looked thoughtful. "I suppose that I could do that."

"Then you could go riding together – when we are in port, of course. And when you're not looking for the Avatar."

Zuko nodded firmly. "Yes. I could do that. I _will _do that." He stood. "Thank you, Uncle. I'll get dressed and go into town now. She can ride it to the garrison, and, should she decide that the horse doesn't suit her, we can take it back and get another."

Iroh blinked. Zuko was not one to let grass grow beneath his feet. "Zuko, perhaps you and I and _she _should go together to choose a horse."

"Nonsense, Uncle. We shan't have time to go prior to visiting the garrison – and don't we want her to have it to ride to the garrison?"

"I suppose." Iroh did not seem convinced.

"Well, good, then. I'll – go now and should be back within a few hours. She shan't be up until then." He gave a rare smile. "You know that she's not a morning person."

* * *

By the time, in fact, that Lan Chi had arisen, washed up, dressed, and eaten, Zuko had indeed returned to the ship with an ostrich horse for her.

He had, in fact, returned to the ship much before she had even awakened, and had spent two fitful hours wondering whether she would like his gift, and whether he had done the right thing. He was not generally impulsive, and he rarely had the _opportunity_ to be impulsive.

Still, he did not know what else to do. He felt, vaguely, as if he were trying to _buy _her forgiveness, and was a bit ashamed of it, but he wanted so much for there to be peace between them.

Despite what anyone might think, he did _not _like to argue. He did not _yearn_ to be disagreeable. He _argued_, yes, and he _disagreed_, but it was never his objective.

And he certainly did not _want_ to argue or disagree with Lan Chi. He just – did. Most of it was accidental – or perhaps _incidental_, but the truth of the matter was that, if he could feel her smile upon him, or hear her laughter, he felt that he would be eternally happy. He could live the rest of his life with just those memories.

And so he paced nervously on the deck until she appeared, and, as she approached him, standing at the top of the gangplank to the docks, he bowed deeply. "My lady."

She returned his bow stiffly. She was not ready to forgive him – Lan Chi had learned to hold a grudge over the past two years. "Your highness."

Zuko cast a quick look at Iroh, who gave him an encouraging smile. "Shall we go, my dear?" Iroh put his hand on her arm.

"Yes, Uncle. I am, finally, ready."

Iroh's smile widened. "Oh, did it take you long to ready yourself? We did not notice, did we, Zuko?"

Zuko, whose eyes had drifted to the graceful curve of her neck, exposed by the braid twisted on her head, snapped to attention. "What? Yes! No! I mean – no! I did not even notice, Uncle." He tried a feeble smile.

She looked at him with confusion, her brows drawing down, and preceded Iroh down the ramp. On the dock, the stablehand stood with Xuan, while two other crewmen held the head of the rhino pulling Iroh's carriage, and a fourth stood with Lan's new mount, which, Iroh was happy to say, was a rather docile-looking white bird.

Lan stopped short, and looked at the horse in bewilderment. "Uncle, whose horse is that?"

"It's yours, my dear." There was a smile in his voice as well as on his face.

An uncertain, delighted smile started to spread over her own face, and she turned to Iroh. "For me? Uncle! You – you didn't have to do that!"

"Well, to be absolutely honest, I – did not. It was one hundred percent Zuko's idea. Conceived and executed."

She turned a dazed look on her cousin, who was blushing profusely now. "Z – Zuko?"

He nodded. "I – I thought that you might like to – ride when we come to port – not by _yourself_, of course. That would be foolhardy, but – with someone – of course."

She walked over to the animal and placed a gentle hand on its beak. It looked back at her with intelligent eyes, and Lan smiled widely. "Hello, girl."

As if in response, the horse raised her head, and Lan laughed. She remembered, suddenly, her horse in Lao Hai, and the wonderful hours that she had spent riding.

She turned to Zuko, and, impulsively, walked over to him and, standing on the tips of her toes, with her hand on her shoulder, kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you, Zuko." She said, quietly, for his ears only, her eyes fixed on his. "That was very kind of you."

There was warmth and forgiveness and something else in her eyes that Zuko could not contemplate. "You're welcome." His throat was dry, and his voice came out as a scratchy whisper.

A ghost of a smile appeared on her face. "I'm not wearing a habit, though."

"We'll wait while you change." He promised, and she nodded.

"Thank you." She allowed her hand to drag down his arm as she released him, and he felt a frisson where she had touched him.

"Uncle, Prince Zuko has kindly offered to delay the journey so that I might change into a riding habit."

"By all means, Lan." Iroh smiled. "We will all wait."

With one last smile at Zuko, Lan hurried away, with Zuko's eyes on her until she disappeared up the gangplank.

* * *

Lan ran lightly up the gangway to the ship, already choosing, in her mind, the riding habit that she would wear. It was a cerulean blue silk with light blue accents, and she had always noted that it made her skin appear creamier.

_Why do you care how your skin looks_? The sane part of her mind asked her. _You can't have him, you know. You __**absolutely **__cannot._

She pushed away rational thought. He cared. Even though he had said that he cared for her only as he cared for Azula, she knew that was not true. She _knew _it. She also knew that it would lead to nothing – it _must _lead to nothing.

But she didn't care. Because, in less than a month, she would have to leave him, and she would _not _sacrifice any more of that time to petty squabbles and hurt feelings.

Once in her room, she ripped off her robe and yanked open the doors of armoire, searching for the habit. She tossed aside several other pieces of clothing and wished, for not the first time, that she had allowed Changda to accompany her.

She finally found it and put it on, and, after shoving a matching comb into her hair and matching slippers onto her feet, she ran back to the door to the deck.

Taking a deep, calming breath, she opened the door slowly, trying to give the impression that she _hadn't _just changed her entire outfit in five minutes.

Zuko was standing at the railing, looking over Nanzhou, and Iroh was the first to see her.

"Ah, Lan. How lovely you look, my dear."

"Thank you, Uncle."

Zuko turned to her, and she turned a blinding smile on him.

He blinked at her several times, as if the smile had actually blinded him, and gave her a bow. "Is that your riding habit?"

"Do you like it?" She spun in front of him, and he nodded.

"It's very – nice."

"Thank you."

She preceded Zuko down the gangplank, and, as before, several members of the crew were waiting with the animals.

She walked over to Xuan and stroked his nose. "You are as beautiful as I remember, you silly thing."

He clucked at her in an almost affectionate way.

"It seems as if he remembers you, Lan." Iroh chuckled.

"Hmm." She smiled. "Maybe."

"I'm glad to see that you're not scared of him anymore." Zuko laid a hand on the bird's flank.

"It's only because _I'm _not riding him." She gave Zuko a sudden grin. "Do you remember that time that _you_ tried to ride him?"

"I _did _ride him." Zuko corrected, following as she walked to her mare.

"If you say so." She threw over her shoulder. "_I_ happen to remember a different tale. A tale that ended with you on the ground, bleeding."

Zuko laughed – _actually_ laughed, and Lan thought that she had never heard a more wonderful sound.

He waved away the crewman acting as the groom, and lifted Lan Chi into the saddle, much as he had that fateful day so long ago in the courtyard of the palace – the day that he had realized that he was in love with her. At that time, he had been smaller, and weaker, and unable to assist Lan in mounting without a stool. Now, however, he lifted her from the ground with ease and settled her on the horse.

As he had that day, he allowed his hands to linger at her waist. "You do remember, on that day, don't you, that I asked you to go riding with me?"

She nodded, dumbly, her face sober.

He gave another smile as he took a step back. "It's taken two years, but – you're worth the wait."

* * *

**Author's Notes**: I know we're not used to a _happy _Zuko, but he can't be miserable ALL the time? After all, who could fall in love with THAT?

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please review, if you wouldn't mind, so that I can reach my goal of being amongst the most reviewed Avatar fics!

Thank you so much for doing it – I know that it takes your time, and I appreciate them all SO much!

By the way, I am sorry for the delay in the posting of this chapter. The DocX feature on FFnet did not work the first TWO times I sent this chapter to my betareaders, and I did not realize that until yesterday (Sunday) morning. So thanks for your patience, and thanks also to my GREAT beatreaders, bowow0708 and sunflower13, for their speedy, wonderful work!


	35. Chapter 35

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN _NICKELODEON'S AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER_ OR ITS CHARACTERS. I just Zuko is a hotman!**

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Thanks to bowow0708 and sunflower13 for their help and betareading. I had a LOT of problems with this chapter, and they really helped me out! Thanks again!

* * *

"Colonel Na! How wonderful to see you!" Lan Chi pasted her most winning smile on her face, and bowed deeply to the colonel.

He returned the bow, and bowed to Iroh and Zuko, as well. "Lady Lan Chi! Well met! I must confess that, when I was told that you were here, I was confused! The assizes are not for several months, yet."

Lan smiled. "I'm _so _sorry for the confusion, Sir! You see, I no longer travel with Uncle Fai. I am off to be married."

"Felicitations!"

"Thank you so much." She put her hand on Iroh's arm. "May I present my uncle, General Iroh, and my cousin, Prince Zuko?" Her discerning eyes saw the portrait of Ozai behind her host's head, and noted it.

"I am honored to meet any members of the royal family, of course." He bowed again to Iroh and Zuko. "General Iroh. I am humbled to be in your presence. I remember so many of your early exploits."

Iroh blushed, and, after Lan sat in the chair that the colonel offered her, he settled heavily into the only other visitor's chair in the room. "Heh, heh. Those_ exploits_, I fear, are _far _distant from me, now. But I thank you."

The colonel turned his attention to Zuko. "And Prince Zuko, am I right in offering you felicitations, as well? Are you the man lucky enough to receive Lady Lan Chi's hand in marriage?"

Lan paled visibly while Zuko reddened.

"No, no, Colonel Na." Lan was quick to correct him. "I am _so _sorry if I gave that impression. I am not marrying Z – the _prince_. No. I – I am to be married to a gentleman in Tao Xing. Princes Iroh and Zuko are simply – escorting me there."

The colonel gave an embarrassed smile. "My mistake." He tried to press on. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

Iroh took over the reins of the conversation. "My nephew, as you may know, has been tasked, by his father, Fire Lord Ozai, with investigating all sightings of the Avatar, with the result being, hopefully, the Avatar's capture."

Colonel Na gave Zuko a sympathetic smile. He had heard of Zuko's scarring and banishment, and had objected vociferously – to his wife. He could not, of course, give his objection voice in any other venue: to do so would be to court the Fire Lord's displeasure. "Of course, of course. How may I help?"

"Have you ever heard any tales, Colonel," Zuko asked, "of the Avatar in this region? Or any old man who might possibly _be _the Avatar?"

The colonel''s brows jumped. "No, I'm afraid not, your highness. You are free to investigate, of course, on your own. You may have a bit of luck."

Zuko and Iroh exchanged looks. It was probably another dead end, but an invitation such as this was not _very _common.

"I thank you." Zuko sketched a bow.

"If there is anything that we can provide, your highness, please do not hesitate to ask."

"Tea would be appreciated." Iroh piped up, and Lan had to suppress a smile.

"Yes, of course." Na smiled.

"Uncle, I wasn't going to stay." Zuko protested.

Lan jumped in. "Prince Zuko is anxious to begin his search. You understand, of course, Colonel."

"Of course, of course. No offense is taken, highness. However, if you are venturing out and about in the city, or perhaps to the outlying settlements, you would probably do best to begin tomorrow. Today, perhaps, you can speak to some of the officers here at the garrison. Many of them regularly have concourse with the locals."

"I'm sure that's a good idea. Don't you think so, Nephew?" Iroh smiled at Zuko.

"Yes. I suppose so."

"And tonight, perhaps, you will all be my guests at my home? We live here – at the garrison. My wife would be _so _thrilled to see you again, Lady Lan Chi, and to meet you, General Iroh and, you, of course, your highness."

"I don't really think –" Zuko began, but Iroh interrupted him.

"We should be very pleased, Colonel. Does the invitation include dinner?"

* * *

"That greedy old man! _Practically _inviting himself to dinner. I haven't time for socializing!" Zuko strode from the garrison building, requiring Lan to nearly run to keep up with him.

"Zuko, stop!" She came to a halt, and, hearing her, her cousin did as she asked, turning to her.

They had left Iroh in the colonel's office, chatting and drinking tea, and were returning briefly to the ship so that Zuko might bring Jee back with him to question the garrison's soldiers.

Zuko looked at her with exasperation. "He can be so _frustrating_!"

She came up to him and stood perhaps a little too close for decorum. "Zuko, Uncle is the most astute man that I have ever met. I know that he acts – befuddled, and _odd_,sometimes, but he has his reasons. He _always_ has reasons."

"Can roast duck be considered a reason?"

Lan gave a small smile. "People are off their guards when they're with him, because they think that he's a harmless old man."

Zuko gave a snort. "He is _definitely _not harmless."

"I know that, and _you _know that. But," she shrugged, "he frequently gets information that way. _And _convinces people, somehow, to do his bidding – even though they do not realize his schemes. Believe me, I _know._ I lived with him for most of my life." She smiled up at him, and he noticed that she was so close that he could clearly see the edges of all the freckles across her face. "He may get Colonel Na to remember something important. Or He may meet someone, over _roast duck_, who knows something."

Zuko gave a small smile. "I – overreacted."

She smiled more widely, and a lone dimple showed in her cheek. "It's all right. He _is _frustrating, sometimes."

A measure of peace came over Zuko, and he had to control his desire to touch her cheek. This was neither the time nor the place, although, to be frank, there would _never _be a proper time nor place.

He wondered if he was past caring.

I should get back to the ship and fetch –" Zuko faltered to silence. He had suddenly forgotten his lieutenant's name.

"Jee." Lan supplied helpfully, and stepped back.

Zuko colored. "Yes. Jee."

They walked to the horses, tethered to a hitching post.

"Thank you, Zuko, for allowing me to come with you." She gave him a sidelong glance.

"I – welcome the assistance." He was trying, very hard, to be polite, mindful of Iroh's earlier admonition. He did not want to say something that she would consider condescending.

"I'm glad." She stopped and looked at him. "I _do _care, you know, about your mission."

"Is that why you came?"

She blushed. "No. Yes. Perhaps."

"I'm sorry about what I said – the other day. I – know that you care." He suddenly heard his own words. "About my mission, I mean!"

She gave a small smile. "Yes. I do." She assured him.

She stopped next to her horse and held her arms out for Zuko to help her to mount.

With a quick, self-satisfied smile, he grasped her around the waist and lifted her into the saddle, pleased that she so readily allowed him that privilege now. Mindful, though, of their surroundings, he released her immediately, and climbed onto his own horse.

They rode back to the ship mostly in silence, although, when he helped her to dismount, his hands stayed on her waist for much longer than before.

* * *

Less than an hour later, Zuko and Jee were on their way back to the garrison, and Lan was left on the ship, as she had wanted. She had to plan. She was being given a rare opportunity – the chance to explore the garrison at will, and she would take it. She _must _take it.

However, whether she would actually attempt to _take _anything that night she hadn't decided. If she broke into his office _during _the time that night, she need not return to the garrison later. However, there were risks inherent in that – she could be caught more easily with the colonel, his wife, and their servants nearby. There was also Zuko and Iroh to be considered – if she took anything and the theft was discovered before their ship left port, there was a chance – a very good chance, that Zuko or Iroh might link it to the theft in Daejeon Ju – and suspicion would most probably, by default, fall on her.

It was decided, then. She would not strike until their last night in port. That would mean waiting, but it would give her time to plan.

* * *

Several hours later, Lan Chi sat in front of a mirror propped against the wall and peered into it critically, trying to set the bian fang onto her head. She felt compelled to wear it, since this was _obviously _a social occasion. She had avoided it thus far – although she probably should have worn it to the opera in Daejeon Ju, she had rationalized that, since she knew no one in the city, it was unimportant.

Tonight, however, she would see quite a few people with whom she had socialized in the past. She remembered the party held in honor of Fai's progress to Nanzhou by Colonel Na, and smiled slightly. The women had been very nice, and Colonel Na very gracious.

Her smile disappeared when she also remembered that she would be betraying them – all of them. The colonel, the officers, their wives, their families – everyone in the Fire Nation. She was a traitor. She was a traitor to all that she had ever known and loved. Even to Zuko and Iroh – even though all that she was doing was to save them, Zuko, especially would not understand.

But she loved him, and Iroh, more than she loved the Fire Nation, and more than she loved her honor. And she would do _anything _to save them.

A knock on her door dragged her from her perusal of herself in the mirror. She stuck her tongue out at her reflection – the way that she had arranged the bian fang would have to do.

She scrambled to her feet and pulled open the door, then bent over to retrieve her slippers from the floor. "I'll be ready in just a moment, Uncle."

Zuko stood in the doorway, his eyes glued on her backside, which was thrust up in the air as she struggled to slide her shoes on. He cleared his throat, and she jumped and whirled, her eyes huge.

"Zuko! I thought you were Uncle."

A brow rose. "Undoubtedly. Uncle's already in the carriage."

"Oh, well. All right. I suppose that I'm – ready."

"You look very – beautiful." She did, in a forest-green robe with lighter green accents.

"Oh." She stopped. "I – um. Thank you." She blushed fiercely, and damned her fair skin that showed it so prominently. "But my bian fang is – crooked." She touched it wistfully.

He shook his head. "It's perfect. _You're _perfect." Before she could say anything, he made a sweeping motion towards the door. "After you."

She colored again, but preceded him out the door, and soon they found themselves climbing into the carriage, where Iroh awaited.

"Well, Lan, my dear, you are stunning, as always." Iroh smiled at his niece as she settled across from him. "Isn't she, Zuko?"

"Thank you, Uncle. And don't worry, Zuko already complimented me." She shot her cousin a quick smile.

"Uncle, where am I to sit?" Zuko asked peevishly. Iroh was seated directly in the middle of the bench, precluding anyone sitting with him.

"Sit next to Lan."

Lan made room for Zuko, and, after he seated himself, Iroh continued.

"I am quite looking forward to tonight. I have a feeling, Prince Zuko, that we will be _lucky_."

"Indeed? Perhaps we shall have roast pork _and_ roast duck." Zuko said snidely.

"If only!" Iroh sighed. "Actually, I was referring to the people at the party." .

"Party?" Zuko's brow arched. "I thought that it was simply dinner with a few of the officers and their wives."

"How often does the colonel entertain _royalty_? Of course it will be a party." The older man affirmed.

"I hope that the colonel _knows _that it is a party." Lan teased Iroh.

"Doesn't matter if he knows or not." Zuko grumbled. "Uncle brings the party."

* * *

The journey to the garrison took nearly a half hour, during which time Iroh and Lan kept up a lively conversation, while Zuko was content to listen to them. He had forgotten how well she and Iroh got on, and how witty they were together. The two of them had easily fallen into their old rapport, and Zuko envied them their closeness. He had never had a closer relationship than with Iroh, but Lan Chi's relationship with their uncle far surpassed his, and he recognized, in them, the way that a father and a child should interact – with kindness and camaraderie and gentle guidance.

The carriage pulled up in front of the garrison, and Iroh alighted, followed by Zuko, who held his hand out for Lan. She took it gratefully, and gave him a smile.

Her hand was warm, and he held onto it slightly longer than necessary.

When he released her, she noted a thunderous look on his face. "Hmm. Next time you don't have to help me out if it makes you so upset, Zuko."

He looked at her with confusion. "What do you mean?"

She smoothed out the wrinkle between his eyes with the pad of her thumb, and he sighed.

"Ah, General Iroh, welcome!" Colonel Na came out of the building and greeted Iroh, who preceded his niece and nephew.

"Thank you so much, Colonel Na."

Colonel Na indicated Zuko and Lan, standing by the carriage. "Shall his highness and Lady Lan Chi be joining us?"

Iroh glanced at his niece and nephew, and saw Lan's gesture. "Ah. It appears that Zuko may have a bit of a headache. We'll give him a few minutes. Shall we go inside and greet your lovely wife?"

"Yes, indeed." Iroh and the colonel left Lan and Zuko outside.

Lan watched them out of the corner of her eye as they entered the building, and silently thanked Uncle. She then turned back to her cousin. "What is it, Zuko?"

He shook his head. "I – don't like – social events."

"Why?"

"You _have_ to ask?" He gestured to his face.

She sighed. "Zuko, you really needn't –"

"Don't tell me what I _needn't_!" He snapped.

She sighed again. "I _know _how you feel."

His mouth drew down. "Really? _You _know how _I _feel? How could you?"

"Zuko, look at me. I have _red _hair. _Red_. I've been an object of curiosity and ridicule for as long as I can remember."

"Oh, come _on_, Lan. You're _beautiful_. Your hair is _beautiful_. I'm a man with a half a face!"

Her heart ached for him. "Zuko." She grabbed his hands. "You are the _Crown Prince _of the Fire Nation. These people will be _thrilled _to meet you."

"Lan, they _must _know what happened. They must know that I'm disgraced."

"Oh, Zuko, you're _not disgraced_. Your _father_ did that to you. You did nothing to _earn_ it."

"I did! I deserved this." He touched the scar. "I was – _disobedient_ and – _arrogant, _and I brought dishonor on him – on my entire family. On our nation."

She shook her head vehemently. "No, Zuko. You didn't." She reached out tentatively and touched the edge of the roughened, thickened skin, and he jerked away.

She smiled and shook her head. "It's all right."

"No, it's not. It's _hideous_."

"You could never be hideous. _Never._"

He looked at her skeptically. "I don't want to go in."

"Zuko, do you _really _think that they're going to notice _you_? I have _red _hair. And I'm wearing a ceremonial Fire Nation headdress that's shaped like a giant _banana_. And Uncle Iroh will be there. You know that he _always _commands _all _the attention."

He stared at her for a long moment. "Do you really think so?"

"If you'd like, I could trip and fall down the stairs. _That_ would command their attention."

He smiled. "That seems a bit extreme."

"For you, I'd do anything."

He did touch her cheek then, briefly. "Thank you." His eyes were soft.

Impulsively, she stood on her toes, and for the second time that day, she kissed him, although this time, it was not his cheek that she kissed, but his lips. "You're welcome." She whispered.

* * *

Zuko entered the party with Lan Chi on his arm, and, as he was announced to the thirty or so people in the room, he glanced over at her, radiantly beautiful, her hand laid gently over his. The warmth of her hand, and her smile were a tangible comfort in a sea of self-doubt, and he knew, right then, that he wanted her to stand next to him for the rest of his life. He didn't know how he was going to accomplish it, but he would. He was resolved.

Colonel Na brought his wife forward, who bowed to them both, and he reflected that this is how it would be, in the future – people bowing to their Fire Lord and their queen. "May I make you known to my wife, Biyu Na?" The colonel smiled.

"Your highness, it is my greatest honor to meet you." Biyu effused, and Zuko smiled. "And you, General Iroh." She turned to him.

"Thank you for inviting us into your lovely home." Zuko said softly, his fingers tightening slightly on Lan's, and feeling a reassuring squeeze in return.

"You have carved quite a marvelous area out of this old garrison." Iroh looked around the large room with approval.

"Thank you so much. It was not easy. We live in the main garrison building, you know, so this room is also the mustering point for the men." Biyu laid a hand on her husband's arm. "But, luckily, Fa does not have very far to go to his office."

"Just down the hall." The colonel grinned.

"Very convenient." Iroh agreed.

Biyu turned to Lan. "And Lady Lan Chi, how wonderful to see you again. Felicitations to you on your upcoming marriage! I see you wear the bian fang – few young women keep the traditions. I am _so _pleased that you do."

"My aunt Ming insisted. I think she just wanted to give me all of her old ones."

Biyu laughed. "They suit you. Are you enjoying your stay thus far?"

Lan's smile was genuine. "Yes, indeed. I'm so pleased to be able to return to Nanzhou. I have very fond memories. You were so kind to me."

"And how are your esteemed uncle and your lady aunt?" Na's wife asked.

"They are quite well, thank you. I believe Uncle Fai is expected here at the end of the year."

"Yes, he is ending his assizes here, I believe. Oh, Lady Lan Chi, look." She pointed across the room to two women hailing them. "You _do _remember Liuyang and Zige, don't you?"

"Yes, of course." She turned to Zuko. "Zuko, could you please pardon me?"

Zuko, who had retained a territorial hold of her, smiled and reluctantly released her. "Of course. I shall see you at dinner."

She smiled at him, and he did not think that he imagined a look of warmth in her eyes.

He watched her as she walked away from him, accompanied by Colonel Na's wife, before turning back to the colonel and Iroh, who had a speculative look in his eyes.

Zuko colored briefly before Iroh slapped him on the shoulder heartily. "Come, Prince Zuko. There are some men that the Colonel believes may be able to give us some interesting ideas regarding the Avatar."

Lan, for her part, was dragged to the other side of the room, where she was greeted with delight by Liuyang and Zige, whom she had met on her prior visits to Nanzhou.

"My lady, we are _all _so pleased to have you back in Nanzhou." Liuyang said enthusiastically.

"Thank you so much. I am glad to be here."

"And we are _so _excited to have Princes Zuko and Iroh with us! It's _very _exciting." Zige repeated herself.

"But the _scar_. My word, it is _quite _severe, isn't it?" Liuyang said in a hushed voice.

Lan nodded, but her face was sober. She did _not _want to discuss Zuko's personal business with these women. They had offered their support to Zuko the first time that she had spoken to them, and she was grateful for that, but this seemed a bit like _gossip_.

"It is something that he does not like discussed. You can understand that, of course." Lan gave a tight smile.

Liuyang blinked. "Oh. Oh. Of course. My apologies."

Lan tried to make her smile warmer. "Thank you so much. My goodness, that is a _stunning _necklace you're wearing. Is it an heirloom?"

She was able to deflect all other conversation from Zuko, and the conversation changed to inconsequential things. She tried to keep the thread of the current conversation, about children and Nanzhou society, but failed miserably, and her mind wandered. She caught sight of Zuko, conversing with a small group of well-dressed, older men, and smiled. He looked so handsome in his dress uniform and armor, tall and muscular and proud, that it almost hurt her to look at him. His dark hair, in its usual queue, swung behind him, dark and silky, and she felt an urge to run her fingers through it, as she had done during their short engagement. She watched as he turned his head, and she caught sight of his scar, and, although she frowned, she did not look away.

She had stopped seeing his scar as an imperfection, and had accepted it as just another part of him, although it was always a reminder to her of the pain that he had been through. The pain that Ozai had inflicted upon him. The pain that may have been, partially, her fault. Her fault because Ozai had, perhaps, punished him, in some measure, because he had fallen in love with her.

She felt a sharpness in her chest, and turned to her hostess with a small smile and a plea to be excused.

She made her way to the ladies' powder room and, closing the door behind her softly, washed her hands and patted cool water on her face. She had to stop thinking about Zuko. She had work to do, and could not afford to be distracted by him.

She replayed, in her mind, the kiss that they had shared earlier – that she had felt compelled to give him – not out of duty, or even pity or sympathy, but out of a desire to take away his pain, and out of love.

She closed her eyes and tried to put him from her mind. She had to focus – to concentrate.

She opened her eyes and looked at herself in the mirror. A woman looked back at her with determined eyes. Stern, determined eyes.

She could do this. She could investigate the garrison. But how?

She smiled. It was simple. She would ask Colonel Na for a tour. She had already been to his office, of course, but she needed entrance and exit points, the safest route through the garrison, and a million other details.

She took a deep breath. She could do this.

She made her way back to the reception room to find Colonel Na chatting with Zuko. Perfect. She could insert herself into the conversation through her cousin. Lan came up and slipped her hand through the prince's bent arm.

He looked at her for a moment, and covered her hand with his as he listened to his host talk about the challenges inherent in governing a hostile people.

"But they aren't _very _hostile, are they, Colonel?" Lan asked.

"Not very, I'll admit. We have them well-controlled, to be sure. But there is a segment of the Earth Kingdom populace that wants nothing more than to drive the Fire Nation out or kill us all."

Lan's fingers tightened on Zuko's arms subconsciously, and he took that as a sign of fear. He rubbed the back of her hand and smiled at her. "You needn't worry. We're quite safe, aren't we, Colonel?"

"Oh, quite. That is only a _small _group, and we already have many of them in prison."

"Oh, my." Lan opened her eyes in what she hoped was a guileless manner. "_Surely _you don't have them locked up _here_!"

"No, no. The worst are sent back to the Fire Nation for incarceration, but we keep _none _of the war criminals in their own provinces. That's just asking for trouble."

"Thank goodness. I would feel _very _uneasy if there were miscreants like that within the walls of the garrison."

Zuko looked at Lan, puzzled. This did not sound like Lan – she was never hen-hearted or scared of anyone or anything.

She caught his look, and realized that she was acting out of character.

"Well, you needn't worry, my lady. We only keep prisoners here a short while – until they can be transferred."

"Well, that _is_ a relief. Isn't it, Prince Zuko?" She asked him, trying to gauge his mind.

He had not been paying attention to their words for several minutes, concentrating instead on Lan's demeanor. "What? Oh, yes. Yes. Do you send them to the Boiling Rock?"

"As I said, the worst go to the Fire Nation." The colonel bowed. "Ah, here's my man, coming to announce dinner. May I escort you in to the dining room, my lady?" He offered his arm, and Lan Chi took it.

As the highest ranking woman in attendance, Lan Chi was entitled to go in to dinner on the arm of her host, and Zuko, as the highest ranking man, was entitled to escort Biyu, Colonel Na's wife, into dinner. Iroh, although Zuko's uncle, had long since ceded his rank to Zuko, and was content to escort another lady into dinner.

"I find your job fascinating, Colonel," Lan admitted to the gentleman as they walked to the dining room.

Colonel Na blushed. It was not often that he had a beautiful young woman call _him_ fascinating, even by extension.

"Well, my lady, it is not _very _exciting."

Colonel settled Lan in the second seat to his right at the head of the table, with Zuko between them. Biyu and Iroh were opposite them. The Colonel sat at the head of the table, as was proper, and all the other guests took their seats.

Lan and the Colonel continued their conversation over Zuko, despite the fact that she was risking having Zuko call her out over her uncharacteristic effusiveness. "Oh, it _must _be. You and your men need always be in a state of readiness!"

"I suppose so. But not nearly as exciting as your life has been, Lady Lan Chi, traveling all over the Earth Kingdom with your uncle. And you, Prince Zuko! _You _and the general have traveled all over the world." He smiled at the prince as the first course, soup, was served.

Zuko shrugged. "It's my duty."

"We have had quite a few adventures, though, Prince Zuko. You _must _admit that." Iroh chuckled.

"I would prefer to be in Royal Caldera City." Zuko said severely.

"Of course." Biyu smiled. "There is no place like home."

"Do you consider Nanzhou your home?" Lan asked, curious.

Biyu looked at her husband. "I suppose so. It's as good a posting as any other. We have not lived in the Fire Nation proper for – well, most of our married life."

"It has been over twenty years."

"My goodness!" Lan exclaimed. "You've lived in war zones over twenty years?" The waiter brought out large platters of food, all of which looked quite tasty.

Iroh eyed the platters greedily. "This all _looks _delicious."

Madame Na smiled. "Thank you, General. Please do dig in. Now, back to your question, my lady. I don't know if I would consider the towns where we lived as _war_ zones, although we have lived in the colonies for over twenty years. You yourself lived in Lao Hai. Did you consider that a war zone?"

Lan considered this as she served herself. "No. I suppose not. But there is _quite _a large Fire Nation populace there. And, to be frank, I never left the environs of the city." She, of course, could not mention her trip to Changda's home, or to General Fong's base. "And I always felt quite safe."

The colonel smiled as he picked up his chopsticks. "Please be rest assured that you are as safe here as you are in Lao Hai. We are always ready at an instant, as you said. Our weapons are _always _at the ready."

"Weapons? Have you only non-benders amongst your soldiers?" Lan asked.

"Most garrisons, my dear, are split approximately thirty percent benders and seventy percent non-benders." Iroh informed her around a mouth of roast duck.

"Oh. I thought that the best ratio was fifty/fifty." She frowned.

"Ideally, of course. But the front needs primarily firebenders." The colonel explained.

"Of course. Now, what sorts of weapons do your non-benders use?" She was interested – especially if it turned into an invitation to tour the garrison.

"Ah, well, it depends on the type of combat. We have close combat specialists who use daggers, as well as those who swing double-handed axes, and others who are masters of the dao."

"Prince Zuko is very –" She began, intending to mention Zuko's prowess with the dao swords.

"– Very interested." Zuko interrupted, sensing what she was about to say, and wanting, for some reason, unbeknownst even to him, to keep it a secret. "Please go on, Colonel."

"Well, for long range, we have archers."

"I count myself as a bit of an archer myself." Lan smiled, picking up a mouthful of noodles with her chopsticks.

"Do you, indeed?" The colonel smiled.

"Oh, yes." Iroh smiled at Lan. "My niece was trained with the Yu Yan archers, under the command of Colonel Shinu."

"Indeed? Shinu is now in Pohuai, I understand."

Lan's brows rose. "Is he? I had no idea he was no longer in the capital."

"Yes. He is in charge of the garrison there."

"Hmm. How interesting." That _was_ interesting, but – disappointing. Pohuai was in the opposite direction from Tao Xing.

"Pohuai is the largest garrison in the entire Earth Kingdom, isn't it, Fa?" Colonel Na's wife asked, addressing him by his first name.

"It is _quite _large. I don't know exactly how large, of course."

"And that _is _sensitive information." Zuko reminded Biyu. "We _are_ at war."

She smiled mirthlessly. "Of course."

Lan decided to take the initiative. "Perhaps Prince Zuko and General Iroh would like a tour of _your _garrison after dinner, Colonel Na. Would you, Zuko?" Lan laid her hand on Zuko's arm.

Zuko looked at her in suspicion, but her expression was innocent, and he relaxed. She was just being polite and – social. Both things that _he_ was not. He turned to his host. "I would be honored." He turned to Iroh. "Uncle?"

Iroh smiled and patted his stomach. "A walk after dinner would be most appreciated. _After _more tea." He indicated the empty pot in front of him, which was whisked away immediately.

"Should you like to accompany us, my lady?" Colonel Na asked.

Lan looked surprised – or at least she hoped that she did. "Oh. Well." She looked at Zuko, as if to gauge his approval, and, seeing nothing in his face that indicated opposition, she nodded. "Yes. Thank you, Colonel. I would _love _to see the garrison."

* * *

Approximately thirty yards from the wall to the closest door. Fifteen or so minutes for the guard to make a circuit of the garrison. Second corridor on the left and fourth door on the right to the colonel's office. Door _not _kept locked.

Lan smiled as she ran over, in her mind, all the details that she had gleaned from the tour, which had been very informative.

She had tried to keep her interest nonchalant, seeming to be distracted by the archery equipment and various pieces of décor. Small vases on desks and tables became _very _interesting, and ancient weapons displayed on walls became _fascinating_.

She also thought it might be best to keep Zuko and Iroh distracted, so she made inane, incidental comments designed to provoke conversation. It worked with Iroh and Colonel Na, but Zuko, predictably, remained silent and watchful.

At one point, as the two older men were discussing mutual acquaintances, Lan drew Zuko aside, into an adjoining hallway.

"Zuko, what is it?" She hated being insincere, and she did _actually_ want him to be at ease, but, of course, her mission was paramount.

He shook his head, and she leaned into him, taking both his hands into hers, and stared into his face. "You may shake your head all you like. _I _know when something is wrong." She was playing a dangerous game here, and she knew it.

If he was surprised by her boldness, he did not show it. "This – _this _walking around the garrison doesn't get me any nearer to the Avatar. It's a waste of time."

"Zuko." She slid her hands up to his cheeks to force him to look at her, and she became sincere. "You're going to be Fire Lord someday. No. Don't say anything. You _will_. I _know _that you will. And part of being Fire Lord is being _diplomatic _and – touring facilities and making small talk."

"I _can't _do that, Lan. That's not me. It's never been me." He absently rested his hands on her hips.

He was right. Even before the agni kai, he had been a bit of a loner, having never attended school nor having many friends his own age. He had never really learned the art of discourse or of meaningless, harmless conversation.

Her lips straightened in a rueful line. "I know. And it's hard. It's taken me _years_ to be able to talk to people freely. But it can be done. If it's important enough to you. Is being Fire Lord important enough to you?"

_If you're there with me_, he wanted to say, but, instead, he nodded.

She nodded in return, and drew away, although he did not want her to. He grabbed her hand, though, and she turned back to look at him.

"Thank you. Again." He whispered, and she smiled, touching his unmarred cheek briefly.

The tour wound its way back to the reception room, where the rest of the party-goers were gathered.

"Thank you so much for the tour, Colonel." Lan smiled.

"My pleasure, Lady Lan Chi." He turned to Zuko and Iroh. "Perhaps I can interest you in something a bit stronger than tea in my study?"

"That sounds wonderful." Iroh smiled, and, although Zuko was not enthusiastic, he thought of Lan's words, and followed.

Lan was hailed by Colonel Na's wife again, and spent the next fifteen minutes or so doing as she had told Zuko to do: making small talk.

She was interrupted, fortunately, by Zuko, who came over to her.

"May I speak to you for a moment, Lan?" Zuko did not spare a look for the other women, and Lan sighed. He obviously required a little remedial etiquette training.

"Pardon me, ladies." Lan smiled as she was led away.

He didn't not take her far away. "One of Colonel Na's friends has a credible lead on the Avatar."

"Zuko! That's wonderful." She gripped his arm.

"Yes. We're leaving with the tide to investigate it."

Lan hoped that her disappointment was not evident. "W – wonderful." She said again, haltingly.

"We're going to take our leave in about a half hour, after he has shown us the area and the route on a map." His face looked almost gleeful, and, despite the complications that this would cause for her, she was genuinely happy for him.

"I'll just say my goodbyes, then."

He nodded. "I have a good feeling about this, Lan."

She smiled. "Me, too."

She watched him go, her mind racing. This was not necessarily a bad thing. She had intended, of course, to come back to the garrison another night. Now, her timetable had simply been – altered.

She went back to the ladies and told them of the exciting news from Zuko, and, after they exclaimed over it, she excused herself to go the the ladies' room.

However, once in the hall outside the reception room, she turned towards Colonel Na's office. Luckily, she encountered no one on the way, and was able to let herself into the office.

Once inside, she looked around the room, lit by one low-burning torch, and, when her eyes landed on a small vase with flowers within, she smiled. "Perfect." The vase was certain to have enough water in it for her use.

She moved to the wall behind the desk, and removed the picture of Ozai from the wall. The safe was there, as she had known it would be, and the lock was the same as the one she had encountered at Daejeon Ju. She was about to pull water from the vase to break the lock when a thought occurred to her.

She pulled out the top drawer, and there, inside, was a ring of keys. "Sloppy, Colonel Na. Very sloppy." She grabbed the keys and tried them on the safe's lock. The third worked, and she slid the lock from its hasp and laid it down on the desk.

She swung the door open, and was confronted by a thick stack of papers. Dismayed, she goggled at it. She could not take _all _of those papers! There was no way that she could fit them all inside her robe.

Making a quick decision, she snatched the first ten or so, rationalizing that those were probably the most recent, and, folding them, shoved them into the front of her robe.

She hoped that they did not show, but determined that a quick stop by the ladies' room would remedy any problem.

She closed the safe, relocked it, replaced the keys in the desk and the portrait on the wall, and was about to turn the knob on the door when she heard voices in the hallway.

"I think that I have it in here." It was Colonel Na's voice, and Lan's eyes widened. He was coming to his office!

With a panicked look around, she darted around the desk and slid under it.

_Please, please, please, please, please don't come sit at your desk! _She pleaded silently as she heard the door open.

"It's an atlas, of course." The colonel was saying as he opened the door, and threw light to another sconce on the wall. "I last saw it in here."

"On a bookshelf, perhaps?" Another voice said, and Lan recognized it immediately. It was _Zuko_! Of course it was Zuko! Was she condemned to run into him every time she was trying to steal things?

Stifling an aggrieved sigh, she drew herself farther under the desk, and prayed to the spirits that the colonel did not come around the desk.

There was a sound of rummaging, and of books being moved.

"Ah. Here it is! I knew it! The map we're looking for is in this book." Colonel Na sounded triumphant.

"Thank you, Colonel, for allowing me to take it with me." Zuko responded, and, despite Lan's predicament, she smiled at how polite Zuko sounded.

"Not at all, your highness. Now let's get Hsu to mark the area."

The lights extinguished, the door closed behind them, and Lan exhaled. That was close.

_Too_ close.

* * *

Lan was just replacing the false top in the drawer of the armoire where she kept all of the pilfered secrets, when there was a knock on the door of her cabin.

Hurriedly shoving the clothing back into the drawer, and the drawer within the armoire, she puzzled who it might be at this hour. They had arrived back at the ship two hours before, but it was long past midnight.

"One moment!" She called, and, hugging her bathing robe more closely around her, she pulled the door open. "Uncle."

He smiled at her. "Hello, my dear. I hope that I didn't pull you out of bed."

"No. No. You know that I have always been a bit of a night panda-owl."

"Yes. I remember that."

"I am surprised that you are not in bed."

He shrugged. "Zuko wanted to be out of port with the tide, and, as you know, the tide is just going out now. I thought that I would stay up and help, if needed."

"Oh. Well. That's kind of you, Uncle. I'm sure that Zuko will appreciate that."

"I doubt that. He is rather – busy right now."

"Oh. Of course."

"I wanted to talk to you, though. May I come in?"

"Oh. Of course." She repeated, a bit inanely, she thought, but let him in.

He came in and looked around, idly, and turned to her. "I wanted to talk about Zuko."

"Z – Zuko?" She asked, apprehensive.

"Lan, you _know _that he is in love with you."

"You've told me that."

"Well, he is. And it is no secret to anyone with _eyes _who sees you together."

"What do you mean?"

He sighed. "Something occurred tonight between you. Perhaps before tonight, as well."

Although she tried, she could not hide her blush.

"I see that I am right."

"You are _not _wrong."

"What happened tonight? When we arrived?"

She sighed. "He is – self-conscious of his scar."

"Ah. I see."

"Did you _never _know that?"

"Well, of course. But we have rarely had social situations in which it – mattered to him."

"He's – worried that people will see the scar and think only of his banishment."

"And you comforted him. That was kind of you."

"He just needed some reassurance."

"Perhaps he did. But – Lan. I think that you may have gone a bit far."

"What do you mean?"

"You seemed very – close the rest of the night."

"Close? What do you mean?"

"Touching his arm – frequently."

"I'm not allowed to touch his arm? I touch _yours _all the time." She was exasperated.

"It's different. _I'm _your uncle."

"And _he's _my cousin."

"It _is _different, and you know it. And _everyone _there tonight knew it. There was talk, Lan."

She narrowed her eyes. "What do I care what a bunch of _colonials _say about me?" She did actually care. She cared a great deal. It had been a miscalculation – trying to distract Zuko in _that _way.

"You _should _care. If not what they say about you, then about Zuko."

"I do. Of course I do."

"Then you must know that, should talk get back to Ozai about the two of you –"

"_Talk about the two of us_? I touched his arm, Uncle! That's _all_!"

"But he so clearly _adores _you. He looks at you like..." He trailed off.

"Like what?" Lan demanded.

"Like he used to. And I am not certain that I did _not _see you look at him the same."

She turned away, upset. She had not thought her emotions were so – obvious. "I – I – shan't do it again."

"I'm sorry." Iroh's voice was full of regret.

She looked back at him, and was silent for a long moment. "Not as sorry as I am, Uncle."

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Well, Lan's plans for stealing Fire Nation secrets seems to be going well, but it is having some unintended consequences - mainly Iroh telling her to cool her jets with Zuko. It is a very dangerous game she's playing, toying with Zuko's feelings, although she herself is confused by whether she is just doing it to distract him, or because she loves him and wants to be closer to him, despite any dangers inherent in that.

I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. PLEASE review so that I can continue my quest of being among the most reviewed fics in the Avatar subsection! It would make me SO happy! I REALLY appreciate what you write, and I always take your comments to heart to improve the story! Thank you, thank you, thank you!


	36. Chapter 36

**Author's Note**: Hello, FAITHFUL readers! I know, I know! You thought I fell off the face of the Earth! I promise you that I didn't, and that I haven't abandoned you or "The Spirit Within!" I have been kind of busy recently with other things, including planting my garden, so that I can get yummy zucchini, tomatoes, and other squash later on in the year! I also, I must admit, had some trouble with this chapter. HA! THAT is an understatement! I had a HORRIBLY hard time with this chapter!

The problem was that, although I knew where I was going, I didn't know how to get there. I LITERALLY wrote this chapter at LEAST six times, and I even wrote what I thought would be the final version of the chapter (about 14 pages) when I realized that I had forgotten something important, and I basically had to trash the whole thing! *sigh*

However, once I had a grip on what I needed to say, I was able to write it, and you will be happy to know that I have nine pages of the next chapter done. I also think that I am firmly on the way to the conclusion of this fic - I know where I am going, and NOW I know how to get there! So, YAY me!

AND, by the way, TODAY is the one-year anniversary of "The Spirit Within: Part One: The Water Tribe Child," and I am so blessed and humbled to tell you that it has been read OVER 100,000 times! I am floored by that, and SO grateful to everyone who has read and reviewed it!

Thanks to my betareaders. bowow0708 and sunflower13, and to all those readers who have encouraged me by sending me PM's to inquire how everything is going, etc..

SO, anyway, enjoy this chapter, and PLEASE review!

And, for those who can't remember what happened last, Lan is continuing on her quest to amass enough Fire Nation secrets to trade for Zuko's and Iroh's freedom after what she feels is the eventual and inevitable defeat of the Fire Nation. However, in her scheme to distract Zuko from discovering her actions by being overly "flirty" with him, she attracted the attention of Iroh, who warned her that the Fire Lord might learn of her closeness to the prince and retaliate. He counseled her to distance herself from Zuko, and she reluctantly agreed. Meanwhile, Zuko received intelligence that the Avatar might be in a remote part of the Earth Kingdom, and he had decided to go to the region to investigate.

* * *

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN _NICKELODEON'S AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER_ OR ITS CHARACTERS. I just hope that Mai finds herself a new boyfriend.**

* * *

"Prince Zuko! Prince Zuko! Come quickly!" The helmsman's urgent tone reached down onto the deck, and Zuko, sparring with Jee, stopped in the midst of a jab, startled.

He looked at his partner, expressionless, and took off for the bridge at a run, followed by the lieutenant.

Iroh and Lan Chi, who had been quietly playing pai sho in the shade of a large umbrella on deck, in a quest to keep the brutal equatorial sun off them, looked at each other, as well.

"What do you think it is, Uncle?" Lan asked, concerned not only by the anxiety apparent in the helmsman's voice, but in Zuko's and Jee's reactions.

Iroh's normally placid face was etched with uncertainty. "I don't know, but perhaps we should find out."

They abandoned their game and followed Zuko and Jee to the bridge, where the prince stood at the deck railing, and, with a spyglass to his good eye, was peering out onto the horizon.

"What is it?" Iroh's voice was strong and confident; he hoped to give Zuko strength to weather whatever was coming.

Zuko silently handed the spyglass to his uncle, his face grim.

Iroh put it up to his eye, and gave a low whistle.

"What is it?" Lan asked, impatient to know what seemed to concern Iroh so.

Her uncle handed her the spyglass in turn. "It's an Earth Kingdom blockade."

* * *

_Two Weeks Before_

"Now, have you packed your favorite pillow?" Lan looked at Iroh with tenderness as he stood at the top of the gangplank that led to the cutter. The small boat would convey Iroh and Zuko to shore to search for the Avatar. The rhino that Iroh would ride, and the ostrich horse that Zuko would ride, were already on shore, along with Jee and several of the firebenders. They were investigating the countryside in which Colonel Na's friend, Hsu, had reported sightings of the Avatar. The area, mainly unpopulated, as far as the Fire Nation knew, had no port, of course, so Zuko was forced to drop anchor in the bay there, and ferry all the needed supplies to the shore.

Iroh smiled at her. "Yes."

"And your medicine? For stiff muscles?"

"Of course."

"And your –"

"Lan Chi," he interrupted her, his hands going to her shoulders. "Thank you for your worry, but I will be _fine_."

She looked at him briefly, then nodded stiffly. "You _will_ take care of yourself." She ordered. "And Zuko."

"If he ever gets here, I shall."

"Where is he?"

"Getting his swords, I believe."

"Making certain that he has something other than firebending with which to face the Avatar."

"A wise thing."

She nodded silently, her face set.

Her uncle looked at her sagely. "All will be well, fear not."

"I know that it will. I just – worry."

"I'm an old warhorse. You know that. And Zuko – he is young, and strong."

"Do _not_ let him get hurt by the Avatar."

"I won't."

"Or yourself."

He chuckled. "You would think that we were going for a month rather than just a few days."

"I wish that I could go with you."

"Zuko would not hear of it – and neither will I."

"You know that I can take care of myself."

"I know. But I doubt that either Zuko or I would be able to concentrate on any fight were you in danger."

"Uncle..."

"Forgive this old man his overprotective urges."

"And Zuko? He's not an old man." She said petulantly.

Iroh smiled sadly. "I think we know from where Zuko's concerns stem."

She blushed, and decided to press on. "Just promise me that you'll be careful,." She reached up to kiss him.

"I will."

"And tell Zuko the same."

He nodded. "I will see you in a few days."

She nodded and, after another kiss on the cheek, she watched as he walked down the gangplank and onto the cutter.

She turned to go to the railing, and stopped when Zuko appeared in front of her. She stepped to the side silently as he gave her a cold, sideways look, and passed her without a word.

She thinned her lips. He had been angry at her since departing Nanzhou. She had avoided him, as Iroh had ordered, and had ignored him the entire time that they were at sea. Zuko, hurt and bewildered, had reacted by ignoring her, in turn.

Now, as he disembarked, he gave her a wide berth, and she watched with sad eyes as he descended the gangplank. "Be careful, please, my love." She whispered.

* * *

Zuko's party was gone for more than a week – much longer than Iroh had suggested that it would take, and Lan was consumed with worry as each day stretched into the next.

Days of worry turned into sleepless nights. She paced on deck and wandered around the ship aimlessly while the sun was in the sky, and, at night, practiced waterbending in lieu of sleeping. Her imagination of what might have befallen them tortured her, and she spent what seemed like hours praying to the spirits for a safe return.

So, when the engineer came knocking on her door early on the morning of the tenth day of their absence, she shot up in bed and scrambled for the door.

She yanked it open. "Yes?"

He tried not to look at her in her nightrail, although it was voluminous and showed little skin beyond that of her neck. "Um. I just thought – my lady," he belatedly bowed, "That you might want to know that – Prince Zuko and General Iroh have been sighted on the shore."

A smile split her face. "Thank the spirits! Has the cutter been sent out for them?"

"Yes, my lady."

"Good, good. Thank you. I will dress and come on deck."

The man blushed, as if hearing the phrase, "_I will dress_," embarrassed him.

She smiled at him again, and closed the door.

They were back! They were back, and they were safe!

Had they caught the Avatar? Spirits! She had forgotten to ask the engineer if the Avatar had been sighted, as well.

Despite her impatience to see them, she took time to dress. She wanted to look presentable when Zuko saw her.

_Why_? She asked herself. _It's not as if it matters. You can't have him. _

She brushed those thoughts away and pulled out a robe of midnight blue. This would do nicely.

After she dressed, she raced up to the main deck, and over to the railing.

The crewmen were lowering the gangplank into position for the approaching boat, and Lan Chi spied Zuko standing at the bow, stern and forbidding, and her heart fell.

He had not captured the Avatar.

She gave a deep sigh. He had been so _sure _that the lead would bear fruit. And now...

Now he would be disconsolate.

And she would not even be _able _to console him. And _that_ was _all _that she wanted to do. She wanted to comfort him; hold him, kiss him, and – and do all the things that she knew they ought not to do.

She turned away as he walked up the gangplank onto the ship. It would not do for him to look up and see her there, watching him. He would think that she was pitying him, and his pride would not thank her for being witness to what he was sure to feel was only his most recent failure.

She pulled open the door to the tower, but not before Zuko caught a flash of her robe. He followed her before he had time to think, and caught up with her in the corridor.

"Z – Zuko." She was flustered, and tried to step back, but his arm on the wall barred her way. She craned her neck to see if there were any of the other crew members with him. "You're – back. Wh – where's Uncle?"

"He wanted to take a nap. He's tired." His eyes were calculating. "Were you watching for me?"

She gave a small laugh. "No. No, of course not."

"Yes, you were. Why? Were you hoping to see my latest failure?"

"What? No, of course not!" She was indignant, and chagrined that he had guessed her thoughts.

He shook his head, calm. "No. It's all right. I didn't find the Avatar. I failed – _again_."

"Oh, Zuko. I – I'm so sorry." Despite Iroh's words ringing in her ears, and his obvious hostility, she laid a comforting hand on his unblemished cheek.

He removed her hand with his own, and she dropped it to her side impotently, her face now flaming.

"But now," he continued, "since we _wasted_ so much time on this folly, we shall now have to head directly for Tao Xing. We should be there in less than a week." He stepped away from her. "I'm certain that will make you happy."

* * *

Although Lan Chi was _not _pleased with Zuko's pronouncement, she could raise no objections. It was true that Zuko's expedition had taken quite a bit of time, and that they were now only nine days away from the date that they had set for her arrival in Tao Xing.

She had not accumulated _nearly _enough secrets to satisfy General Fong – not nearly enough, she was certain, to justify to the general Zuko's and Iroh's freedom.

Well, she would just have to get some secrets from her husband. Surely _he _must have access to _many_ secrets.

She abandoned the laundry she had been folding and walked to the window of her cabin, suddenly sad.

_Her husband_. She had referred to that – _man _as her husband.

Self-loathing rose up like bile in her throat. How could she give in so _easily _to Ozai's desires and sacrifice herself – sacrifice her _life – _for his petty vengeance? Because Ozai _hated _her, because he feared her power over Zuko, because he resented her _temerity _in daring to think that she could marry Zuko. Because of all of that, he had sold her to the highest bidder.

How could she allow this to happen? _How_? For Zuko and Iroh? She would gladly give her life so that they might live – but she did not know if she could _sacrifice_ her life – if she could spend _years _in virtual, intimate servitude to a man she did not even know!

She knew the answer to that immediately. She wouldn't. She couldn't. She _would _not marry Ozai's choice – even if it meant running away.

In fact, the more she thought on it, the more it made sense. Once Zuko and Iroh delivered her to her _fiancé_ in Tao Xing – once they were gone, and no suspicion could fall on them, she would run away. It would take _weeks _for her disappearance to reach the other Fire Nation colonies – perhaps months. She could easily travel through the colonies, collect more secrets, and return to General Fong with all the secrets that he could want.

But what would she do _after _that?

Well, there was _always _Ba Sing Se. She could melt into the city, and no one from her past would _ever _find her.

She gave a small smile. For the first time in a _long _time, she had something to look forward to.

Freedom.

* * *

"Cut the engines!" Zuko yelled, and turned to Jee. "Raise the trebuchet and get the hot stickers ready." He walked off purposefully, calling out orders to the other crewmen.

Iroh made to follow him, but Lan Chi grabbed his arm.

"Uncle, what is happening? What are we going to do?"

"Well, it appears that Zuko is preparing to fight."

"_Fight_?!" She was aghast. She had seen, through the spyglass, a long line of Earth Kingdom ships for what seemed to be miles. "We can't _fight _a blockade! Has he lost his mind?"

The sound of the engines idling caught their attention. "We've stopped." Lan observed.

Iroh nodded. "He wants to regroup and strategize."

"Raising the _trebuchet _does not sound like _strategizing_!" She protested. "It sounds like he has already made up his mind to attack!"

"Hopefully not. There is much else that we can do _besides _fight." He finally started after Zuko, and she followed.

"Like run away!"

"Perhaps."

They found Zuko down on the lower deck, where he was supervising the set-up of the trebuchet, a contraption that consisted of a sling and a powerful throwing arm, which was used for hurling ammunition such as rocks.

One of the firebenders dashed up to Zuko. "We have only seven hot stickers, Your Highness." He reported in a rush.

"_Seven?" _Zuko was indignant. "We were supposed to have _at least _a dozen!"

"What's a hot sticker?" Lan asked no one in particular.

Iroh answered. "It's a ball of pitch and wood and – other things, that we set on fire and launch at the enemy. It generally explodes upon contact, spreading flaming pitch everywhere. Very useful, but _very _smelly."

"Jee," Zuko ordered, "get someone into the crow's nest with the strongest spyglass we have. Find out how many ships there are, and how far they stretch."

"Yes, Your Highness." Jee nodded and turned to one of the men to convey the orders.

Zuko seemed to see Lan for the first time. "You shouldn't be out here. Get back to your cabin, where you'll be safe." He grabbed her arm, as if to walk her off the deck himself.

She slid her arm from his grip. "What?! No! You're not sending me away to – to _hide_! I want to stay with you!" She blushed at the implication of her words. "I mean that I want to – to stay up here."

"It's not safe!" Zuko's face, too, was reddening, but from anger. "Now, do as I _say_!"

"No!" She stamped her foot, in what she recognized was a childish way.

"Highness, we should have the trebuchet loaded soon. What are your orders?" One of the men asked.

"Zuko, please." Lan put a hand on his arm. "Turn the ship around."

He ignored her. "Keep it ready to fire."

"Your Highness!" Jee, who had gone to the foot of the crow's nest, came hurrying back now. "I had Cho stop counting ships once he got to twenty-seven." Jee's face was as grim as Lan had ever seen it.

"Have they seen us?" Zuko mused aloud.

Jee shook his head. "I don't think so. If they had, we would certainly see _some _sort of reaction, but they haven't moved, nor can Cho see any on-deck preparations."

She shook Zuko's sleeve. "Let's take this chance, then, Zuko, and _leave_."

Again, in what was becoming a habit, he removed her hand. "How else will we get you to your _fiancé_?" He sneered.

Her eyes widened in disbelief. He was going to endanger them _all _to deliver her to Tao Xing? "I know that you are _eager _to be rid of me, Zuko," she said stiffly, "but I would prefer to arrive _alive_, if you wouldn't mind!"

He set his jaw and glared at her. Without removing his eyes from her face, he issued his next order to Jee. "Be ready to fire when I give the word."

"Prince Zuko!" Iroh's voice was insistent, and Zuko turned to him. "It is folly to attack an enemy _blockade_! You must see that."

"We have an obligation to convey Lady Lan Chi to her new husband, Uncle." Zuko said emotionlessly, his eyes cold.

"Zuko!" Lan stepped between her cousin and uncle. "I don't _care _about getting there! Don't you _understand_?" She felt almost in tears; he was being ridiculous!

Iroh continued to try to reason with his nephew. "You are being foolhardy, Zuko. Your primary _obligation_ is her _safety_!"

A glimmer of an idea came to Lan. "And what about your mission to capture the Avatar?" She watched as Zuko's eyes narrowed in thought. "Will you sacrifice that to try to break through a blockade?" She pressed on. "Will you disappoint your father?"

Waves of anger emanated from Zuko – he did not need to be told his duty by a _girl_! "Get below deck _now._" He said between gritted teeth.

"You can't –" She began, but Iroh gave a brief wave of his hand to indicate cessation, and, fuming, she nodded, and stomped away.

"Zuko..." Iroh started, but Zuko held up his hand until Lan had disappeared through the door leading below deck.

"Turn it around, Jee. We're not breaking a blockade today."

Jee nodded. "Yes, Your Highness."

"Head south. There should be an _end _to this cursed blockade."

He left Jee and went to the railing of the ship. That meddling, _stupid _girl! Who did she think that she was, anyway? Lecturing him like that – in front of the crew?

_But she was right,_ his rational side whispered. And Zuko _knew_ that she was right. But he could not allow her to think that he was capitulating because of _her _words.

Iroh joined him and they stood for several moments, their eyes upon the ships in the distance.

"You need not have been so harsh with her, Zuko." Iroh reprimanded his nephew quietly.

"Shut up, Uncle." He was in no mood to be lectured. He was facing a blockade, and he did not know, really, what to do. There was little chance of breaking through, and he was almost – glad of it. If they could not break through the blockade, they could not reach Tao Xing, which meant that he did not have to leave Lan with another man – and that thought made him almost giddy with joy.

Despite her recent coolness towards him, he had long ago accepted that he was deeply, irrevocably in love with her – and always would be. He should not be – he knew that. She was no longer his, and these feelings he felt for her were – dishonorable.

"Your Highness." Jee came to him and bowed.

Zuko nodded in acknowledgment, and Jee continued.

"It seems that the line of ships extends to Whale Tail Island."

The channel between Whale Tail Island and the mainland Earth Kingdom was frequently contested by the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom.

"That explains the blockade." Iroh said.

"Can we go south?" Zuko asked.

"Yes, of course, but if the Earth Kingdom is seeking to keep Fire Nation ships from passing, they will have the southern channel blockaded, as well."

Zuko looked at him with irritation. "I want to see a map."

"We have one laid out on the bridge, Your Highness."

The three of them climbed to the bridge, where a map of the world was spread out on the low table there.

"We're here," Jee pointed a finger at a spot near the center of the passage on the northern side of Whale Tail Island. "The blockade extends down to here – at least."

Zuko jabbed at the water below the island. "And here is the southern channel. We can pass through there."

"If it's not blocked, as well." Iroh reminded him.

Zuko gave him a brief look. "Yes. If it's not blocked."

"And if it is?" Iroh asked, although it was not clear to whom he had directed his question.

Zuko answered. "We'll go farther south." His own finger trailed along an invisible route on the map, around a small island below Whale Tail Island.

Jee, after exchanging a quick look with Iroh, spoke up. "Your Highness, I'm afraid that – that won't be possible. All of these islands here," he indicated, on the map, the group of islands of which Whale Tail Island was the northern-most, "are surrounded by _very _shallow, rocky waters. Only a skiff – or our cutter, perhaps, could navigate it. _Definitely _not a ship of our size."

"The cutter is not made for long-distance voyages."

"No, of course not, Highness." Jee bowed in acknowledgment.

"So the Earth Kingdom has effectively cut us off from the other half of the world." Zuko said petulantly.

"Not just us, Prince Zuko. The entire Fire Nation fleet." Iroh pointed out.

"To be frank, General Iroh, since the Fire Nation deepened the river that goes past Pohuai, we have had less need of traversing these waters. The southern course that we chose after picking up Lady Lan Chi made sense because of her proximity to this route, but there were other options available to us."

"This is the shorter route, to be sure." Iroh agreed.

"Why can't we go down here," Zuko ignored their conversation, and dragged his finger to nearly the bottom of the map, "around the South Pole?"

Jee breathed out heavily. "Well, we could, of course, but there is certain to still be ice clogging most of the shipping lanes. By late in the season, it should be entirely navigable, but, right now..." He trailed off.

Zuko reddened, and removed his finger from the map. "Make for the southern channel around Whale Tail Island."

"And if it's blockaded?" Iroh asked.

Zuko gave his uncle a hard look. "I'll decide _then_."

* * *

Lan leaned idly on the window sill in her chamber, looking out onto the ocean at the long line of ships that, at this distance, appeared only as dots to the naked eye.

Zuko had sent her to her cabin, but he had apparently forgotten that she had a window, and could therefore keep abreast of anything occurring in relation to the blockade. She had not wanted, of course, to leave him during this time of crisis, but Uncle had obviously thought it best that she leave return to her room, and she had, in this instance, acquiesced to his greater wisdom.

She had watched their progress southward for the past two hours, anxiously awaiting the sound of a shot from the trebuchet, or the sight of a boulder being tossed at them, but, luckily, there was only the sight of an inexorable line of ships in the distance, silent.

Their ship was neither advancing nor retreating, but traveling in a line parallel to the blockade. That was not bad news, Lan reflected. Of course, it was not _good _news, either. She would have preferred to put an ocean between the blockade and Zuko's ship. She wondered why Zuko had not. He could not be serious about attacking or breaking through the line. That would be – suicide.

She sighed and straightened. He could not expect her to stay in this room indefinitely.

She nodded to herself. She was going to go out onto the deck.

She saw no one in the corridor, although that was not unusual, and she ran lightly down the steep stairs to the main deck.

She saw Zuko standing alone at the port railing, the spyglass to his good eye. She considered avoiding him and searching out Uncle Iroh, but damned that as a cowardly thing, so, instead, she came up behind him, and, in a moment of mischievousness, leaned over his shoulder.

"Any change?" She asked softly.

He started, lowering the spyglass, and, realizing her identity, stiffened and frowned at her as she came to stand beside him. "Why aren't you in your cabin?"

She shrugged. "Because I'm not a prisoner. Besides, my cabin is in the tower, Zuko, and it has a window. If the Earth Kingdom launches a rock at us, it's probably the _worst _place to be." She leaned on the railing.

He looked at her for a long moment, then lifted the spyglass again.

"Where are we going?" She asked idly.

"South."

She rolled her eyes. "I _know _that we're going south, Zuko." She stood and faced him, her arms folded. "I'm not an idiot."

He did not put the spyglass down. "I didn't say that you were."

"So we're going south. Where are we?"

"Northwest of Whale Tail Island."

That meant little to her. She was not very familiar with geography outside the Fire Nation's environs. "Oh. Where are we going?"

He sighed and dropped his arms. "We are on the _west _side of this island. We want to be on the _east _side. Tao Xing is on the _east _side of this island."

"Oh." She said again. "Can we get on the east side?" He ignored her and raised the spyglass again, and, irritated, she pushed it down. "Can't you even_ look _at me?" She demanded.

Angry now, he grabbed her upper arm and dragged her into the shadow of the tower, where he knew that they could not be seen from the bridge. "There. I'm looking at you. Are you _happy_?" He asked, his eyes blazing.

She stared at him mutely, her eyes wide, and nodded. And, in that moment, she was. It was just the two of them, with no Uncle and no fiancé and no Fire Lord, and even though he looked at her with fury, he was _looking_ at her, and talking to her, and the coolness of the past weeks – the coolness that she had brought on herself – was gone.

She launched herself at him, then, and he caught her in his arms. His mouth came down hard on hers, and he held her to him tightly, as if to absorb her into his body. His lips were hard against hers, and she reveled in it. His tongue pushed his way into her mouth, and she welcomed it. She could feel the sharp edges of the spyglass biting into her back where he crushed it against her, but she didn't care.

She didn't care about anything in the world other than him.

"Zuko?" They heard Iroh's voice from above them – on the bridge, presumably, and Zuko tore his mouth from hers.

"Spirits!" He swore, looking upwards for a moment, before turning back to her. "Stay." He whispered, and gently pushed her into the doorway before stepping out onto the deck to answer his uncle's summons.

"What is is, Uncle?" He called.

"Where is Lan?"

"I sent her back to her room! Is that _all _you called me for? I'm not her keeper, you know!"

"Lieutenant Jee and I have a rather extraordinary plan. Will you come up to the bridge?"

Zuko sent a quick glance at Lan, who nodded quickly.

"I'll be right up." He went back to where she was waiting with one hand at the base of her neck and a worried expression on her face.

He grinned suddenly, and, after delivering a swift kiss, grabbed her other hand. "Come on."

"You want me to – go with you?"

He nodded solemnly. "If I can't be rid of you, I might as well keep you near."

She looked at him again, her eyes wide, and allowed him to pull her along to the ladder leading to the bridge. He bowed gallantly to her. "After you, my lady."

She looked at him for a long moment, and saw something in his eyes that she had not seen in a very long time. A spark of – joy. She smiled. "Thank you."

She climbed the ladder before him, not realizing that he had engineered it so that he could watch her as she climbed.

They emerged in the bridge, and Iroh registered surprise. "Prince Zuko. I thought that you had said that you sent Lady Lan Chi back to her cabin."

Zuko glanced at Lan briefly. "She refused." He tried to change his uncle's focus. "What's your plan, Uncle?"

Iroh shook his head as if to clear it. "Well, it is not _entirely _my plan, you realize, Zuko. Lieutenant Jee was important – no, actually, I would say that he was _instrumental _in the formulation of this plan. Of course, we may not need it at all –"

Lan and Zuko exchanged exasperated glances as their uncle continued his monologue.

"Uncle!" Zuko interrupted him.

The old man, startled, looked at his nephew.

"What's the plan?" Zuko prompted.

"Oh. Oh, well. Perhaps Jee should explain it."

Zuko turned expectantly to his lieutenant. "Jee?"

Jee drew in a deep breath, and beckoned Zuko to come to the map, still spread on the table. "Here, Your Highness, are we." He indicated a spot on the map, not far from Whale Tail Island. "We are attempting to cross over into the eastern half of the southern ocean here, south of Whale Tail Island." He traced the proposed course. "Hopefully, we will be able to cross over here." He tapped his finger on the area between Whale Tail Island and its southern neighbor. "Because, of course, our destination is Tao Xing, which is, of course, here." He moved his finger to a spot far to the east, on the edge of the continent.

"Yes, yes. I know all of that. What is this _extraordinary _plan? I have seen nothing that makes me think it is a plan at all." Zuko said peevishly.

Jee cleared his throat uncomfortably. "I am getting to that, Your Highness. As I said, we hope to cross the southern channel below Whale Tail Island. However, if, as we suspect, it's blockaded as well, we have no choice but to turn around. We can't risk traveling in the antarctic waters so early in the year."

"So you brought me here to tell me that we _cannot _get Lady Lan Chi to her destination?" Zuko asked, and Lan's pulse jumped in hope. Zuko continued. "Is that your wonderful _plan_?"

"No, Sir." Jee sounded more confident now. "We _can _get Lady Lan to her fiancé – although it will take _considerably _longer than our current path."

Zuko's brow rose. "Indeed. If your idea is to go back up and around the Fire Nation and along the northern coast, I would say that that is _not _an _extraordinary _plan."

"No, Highness, that is _not _my plan." Jee looked to Iroh for support.

The old man nodded. "There is another route that we can take."

"Oh, well, then." Zuko was skeptical. "Do tell."

Jee gave a firm nod. "We turn around – after determining the extent of the blockade, of course, and make our way up here." He moved his finger along a line that took him back along much of their route, and inland. "To Pohuai."

"Pohuai?" Zuko asked incredulously. "Why would we go to Pohuai?"

"Because the river there has been _widened_, and _deepened, _to accommodate Fire Nation ships." Iroh supplied helpfully.

"And the river, Your Highness, cuts through the middle of the continent, bypassing _all _Fire Nation waters proper, and leads to the northern sea."

"So we do not circumnavigate the continent, but go up the middle! And you stay out of the Fire Nation, as your father commanded." Iroh said triumphantly.

Zuko gave his uncle a disgusted look. He needn't have sounded so _gleeful _about Zuko's banishment. "How does that get Lan to her husband on time?" Zuko hated considering that, of course, but he knew that it was a question that must be asked.

"Well, actually, Your Highness, it doesn't. But it _gets_ her there. It will take probably a month and a half longer, give or take, and dependent upon the weather, of course."

Zuko glanced at Lan, whose eyes were glued to his.

An extra month or, perhaps, more, to spend with her. That extra time would give him more of an opportunity to plan. Plan a way to keep her with him – to convince her to marry him instead of the man his father had chosen. Just a few weeks ago, it would have been anathema for him to think about disobeying the Fire Lord, but that was before he had seen her again – before he had realized how much he _needed _her in his life, and how much he hated the thought that she might marry another man.

"Fine." Zuko said. "_Provided _that the southern channel is blockaded, we will go through the Pohuai River valley." He turned to Lan Chi, and, although his following words were meant only to show Iroh and the others of his commitment to his obligations, he knew that they must be said. "I will see you married one way or the other, my lady."

But to him, _not_ to her fiancé.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. It might help to understand the geography if you look at a map of the Avatar world, which can be found all over the internet - just google it. Whale Tail Island is just below the Earth Kingdom in the eastern half of the world, in an island chain above the Southern Air Temple, and not far from Kyoshi Island. Pohuai is in the opposite direction, and north, and was the garrison where Aang was held in "The Blue Spirit."

PLEASE review so that I can achieve my ambition of having this fic among the most reviewed on FF.


	37. Chapter 37

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN _NICKELODEON'S AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER_ OR ITS CHARACTERS. I just need calming tea.**

* * *

**Author's Notes**: Thanks to bowow0708 and sunflower13 for their betareading and constant reassurance!

* * *

The waters south of Whale Tail Island were, as expected, blocked by Earth Kingdom vessels, and so Zuko's ship turned around to retrace its course, and headed for the inland stronghold of Pohuai, the gateway to the northern seas.

Lan had not gotten a chance to speak to Zuko since their unexpected kiss. He had been busy with the planning necessary to alter course – there were _many _decisions to be made – at which ports to stop and refuel, and the amount of food required for a journey almost doubled in length. He also had to decide at which port they should stop to send a message to Ba Daichi, Lan's fiancé, and to the Fire Nation capital, to inform them of the blockade, in case they were unaware, as well as a dozen other things.

That night, though, as the ship chugged northward towards the nearest friendly port on the mainland , Lan finally found Zuko standing alone at the railing on the lower deck.

She smiled as she came up to him, and, in the dark, she felt comfortable putting her hand on his shoulder. "I'm always finding you here, it seems."

He turned his head slightly and looked at her. "Just keeping watch." He lifted his hand to grasp hers, and slid their clasped hands down between them as they stood together, staring out at the fathomless, black ocean. "Where's Uncle?"

"Having tea in his cabin. He was tired, so I made him a pot of his favorite nighttime blend."

"You mean the chamomile one that always puts him to sleep?"

"Yes."

"Well, at least we won't have to worry about him sneaking up on us."

"He seemed to have _remarkable _timing earlier."

"Just like when we were thirteen." He gave a nostalgic smile.

"Not quite. Back then –"

He interrupted her. "I had an _entire_ face."

"Please don't say that." She chided him.

He shrugged. "I'm used to it, now."

"It doesn't matter."

"Of course it matters."

"It doesn't. You're the same person."

He shook his head. "No, I'm not. Spirits, no! I'm not."

"Neither am I. But – what I – _feel –_ _that_ hasn't changed." That was the closest that she would come to telling him her true feelings.

The conversation lapsed, and they stood in silence for a long while, each wrestling with their own emotions. Lan's were in such turmoil that she wasn't really quite sure what she felt – she was so grateful that she had finally shown him how she felt, and glad that he had reciprocated, and that there was an ease between them again, but she was afraid – afraid of Iroh's reaction, and of the possibility of Ozai finding out, and afraid that she would never want to leave Zuko.

"I'm afraid, Zuko." The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them.

He turned to her, although, in the dark, with just the slivered moon for light, she could see only shadowed features. "Why?"

She shook her head and stared out over the sea. "I – I don't know." She didn't want to talk about her future husband, or the fact that she would be leaving Zuko forever, or that the Fire Nation was probably going to lose the war.

She wished that she had never said anything.

She smiled at him. "Never mind. I'm just being – silly."

He drew in a deep breath, and, facing her, he gently pulled her braid over her shoulder and looked at it intently. "I've wanted to touch this for so long." He said musingly.

She gave a small laugh. "My _braid_?"

He nodded. "Your hair. It's the most magnificent color."

"Freakish red." She supplied helpfully.

"No. It's beautiful." He was quiet for a long moment, studying her. "You won't marry him."

She gave an unladylike snort. "How will we manage _that_?"

"We will."

"Ha!"

"We have another chance, Lan. Don't you want to take it?"

She looked up into his eyes, and knew that she would do anything for him; anything to be with him. "Yes." She nodded, but there were _still _too many obstacles. "So, will you tell your father or shall I?"

"He'll have to find out at some point. At least before his first grandchild arrives."

"Zuko! Don't be flippant! You _know _that your father will be _livid_!"

"Not if I find the Avatar..."

"I don't know if he would change his mind even if you found a _dozen_ Avatars."

"He will." She snorted again, and he sighed. "Just – give me time." He said.

She started to shake her head, but he pressed on. "Look, give me until we arrive in Tao Xing to find a solution."

"But what –" She began.

"_Will_ you give me until then?" He interrupted her.

She was silent.

"Do you trust me?" He asked her.

She nodded. "Yes. Of course."

"I'll find a way out of this, Lan. I _will_. I promise."

She frowned as sudden tears came to her eyes. "Oh, Zuko, don't make promises you can't keep."

He pulled her against him suddenly and enveloped her in his arms, her cheek against his chest so that she could hear the strong beating of his heart. She inhaled the scent of him, blissfully, and clasped her hands behind his back, drawing him closer.

She felt his lips against her hair. "I'll keep this promise, Lan. I swear."

She closed her eyes and nodded. She knew that he wouldn't, but, in his arms, she felt like the moment would never end.

Maybe, if she kept her eyes closed, it wouldn't.

* * *

He walked her back to her cabin, and after several long, yearning kisses, he reluctantly left her, and she was alone in her room.

She looked at herself in the small mirror, and, although she looked no different, she _felt_ different. Loved. Worthy.

She wished she could smash the mirror, though. It was a lie. It was all a lie. A lie that she had told Zuko – that she continued to tell him. A lie from him, too – even though he did not realize it. A lie that they would be together. Zuko would not find the Avatar. She knew that. And, even, if by some miracle, he did, Ozai would _still _not allow them to be married. She knew that, too - deep within her, she knew that Ozai had meant what he had said, so many years ago, that he would rather see her dead than married to Zuko.

But she had a chance to build up memories with Zuko. Memories that would have to see her through the rest of her life. Because she knew that she _would_ leave him when they docked in Tao Xing.

So, let him dream that he would find a solution.

But, for now, she had _time _with him. Time that was not to be wasted.

And that would sustain her.

It would have to.

She laid the mirror down and sat on her bed. The armoire loomed before her, dwarfing all else, and its hidden contents – the secrets that she would bargain for Zuko's life with, dwarfed everything, as well.

She thought about her plan to betray both her country and the people she loved, and considered, for just a moment, abandoning it, and allowing herself to be carried away on the wave of Zuko's enthusiasm.

After all, if she married Zuko – if he was _actually _allowed to marry her...

But he would not be. And he would not find the Avatar – that was an impossible task that his father had set him. Everyone knew it. Everyone but Zuko, it seemed.

And even if he did, what would it change, in the war? Ba Sing Se would most probably still enter into it, and the Fire Nation would still be defeated.

Zuko and Iroh would still be in danger – in _very _great danger, of being imprisoned or executed by the Earth Kingdom.

And so she wouldn't give up her plans. She couldn't.

That was non-negotiable.

* * *

"We shouldn't be doing this." Lan said in a whispered voice.

"It's just a kiss." So saying, he kissed her. Twice. "Or two."

"But Uncle might see." She tried to look over Zuko's shoulder.

They stood just inside the door of one of the interior corridors of the main tower, out of sight of the crew and Iroh, who, even now, was playing solitary tiles on deck.

He sighed and leaned his forehead against hers. "Fine."

She smiled at him. He was so like he had been, more than two years before. So much. "Shouldn't you be training?" She asked as he lowered his head to nuzzle at her neck. "So that you'll be ready to face the Avatar?"

He sighed again. "I suppose so. Yes." He nodded. "You're right. Will you train with me?"

She goggled at him. "Do you _not _remember what happened the last time we sparred?"

He blushed. "I won't do that again. I – was – trying – to – to _prove _myself to you."

"Hmm. And what _exactly_ did you prove, Zuko?" She crossed her arms on her chest.

"That I'm an idiot. I won't do it again."

She considered his request. "I suppose that I can, then. But it would have to _look _spontaneous, you know, to fool Uncle."

"Why?"

"If he knows that I agreed to partner you, he'll get suspicious."

A small smile escaped him. "I think that I can arrange something. Go out and sit with the old reprobate."

She did as he said, and went out onto the deck.

"Hello, Uncle." She came up beside him and bent to kiss his cheek.

"Hello, Dear. Did you sleep well?"

"Remarkably."

"Does the fact that you will now be delayed six weeks in meeting your fiancé have anything to do with it?"

She tried to look guileless. "Not at all, Uncle. I am – anxious to meet him." Best to keep the facade up.

"Meet who?" Zuko's voice was startlingly close, and she jumped.

"Da Baichi." Iroh informed him, watching Zuko's reaction carefully.

"Hmm." Was all that Zuko said before he turned to Lan. "You look well, Cousin." He sketched a bow.

"Thank you, Zuko." She smiled at him.

"Yes, she does." Iroh mused.

"And thank _you_, Uncle." She sat down across from him. "Are you winning?"

He gave a low laugh. "Only because I'm cheating."

"I'll play with you, if you'd like."

"I _would_ like that." He began to gather the tiles to reshuffle them. "Zuko. Would you like to join in? We can make a threesome."

Zuko's brow shot up. "No, thank you, Uncle. I have to do some training. Have you seen Jee?"

"Plotting out the course."

"_Still_?" His face became thunderous. "He's goldbricking again."

"Zuko. If there is _anyone _on this ship who is _not _lazy, it's Jee."

"I don't know why you defend him so, Uncle." Zuko said petulantly, and Lan had to hide a smile. Zuko was very convincing at being irate.

"He _always _seems to be busy with duties when _I _require him. His main duty on this ship is to partner me."

Iroh concentrated on shuffling the tiles. "I thought that his main duty was to command the men – under you, of course."

"If _that _were his only job, I could _easily _get a non-bender to do it – and at a _lower _rate!" He dropped his arms and turned around to glare at the tower. "But he is _supposed _to spar with me when I wish it!" He shouted, as if Jee could hear him.

Lan's eyes widened. He was _very_ good at this, and she suspected that this was an argument that Zuko made frequently.

Zuko turned back to Iroh. "Get up, Uncle."

Iroh's brows rose. "Why?"

"Because _you_ are going to partner me."

Iroh began sputtering apoplectically. "You want _me _to spar with you?"

"Why not?"

Iroh searched for an answer. "Because – because I am playing a game with Lan!" He pointed at her triumphantly.

Her own brows rose, and she shook her head. "Don't let me keep you from partnering Zuko, Uncle."

Iroh's eyes widened. He would get no help from that quarter.

Zuko waited expectantly.

"Uh, I did not want to tell you, Nephew, but I – _seem _to have hurt my ankle."

Zuko frowned. "When? You were walking perfectly well earlier."

"Ah, well...actually, I, um, _twisted _it when I sat." He extended his leg out and winced, making sounds of pain.

Zuko rolled his eyes. "_Really_?"

"Oh! Ow!" Iroh bent his ankle experimentally, and gave ersatz cries of pain.

Zuko sighed. "If you don't want to partner me, Uncle,say so."

Iroh looked relieved. "I don't want to partner you."

Zuko looked peeved. "Well, what am I supposed to do, then? Spar with my shadow?"

Iroh shot a look at Lan. "Why don't you try training with Lan Chi again?"

"I need to train with a bender, Uncle."

Very convincingly, Lan demurred. "No, thank you, Uncle. I still remember the last time that I sparred with Zuko."

"I would not do that again, Cousin, I pledge." Zuko said sincerely. "But I really need to practice with someone who can give me a challenge – not a _girl _with a few fancy moves."

Lan's eyes widened, and she was suddenly angry. "I nearly beat you the last time, Zuko."

"You came nowhere _near _beating me!"

Lan raised her chin. "I won't go through this again."

"Good. I didn't ask you to. I need to spar with a _bender_."

"Hand-to-hand combat is important, too, Prince Zuko."

Zuko looked between the two of them. Perhaps it was best to give in. "Fine. But do not expect an easy time of it." He warned Lan.

She looked at him. "_Fine_." She echoed his words. "_You_ should not expect that I'll hold back. There will be no mercy from me."

Zuko gave a sly smile. "I would not want any."

"Well, good." She stood and made a point of straightening her sparring clothes.

Zuko bowed, and indicated that she should precede him to the middle of the deck.

"No holds, Zuko!" Iroh called, but Zuko ignored him and turned his back to his uncle.

"Why else would I spar with you if not to get you in a hold?" Zuko whispered to Lan.

"After all of those things that you said, you expect me to allow you to _touch _me?" Her face was red.

His eyes widened. "I – I didn't mean it, Lan. I – _we – _were just trying to convince Uncle..." He trailed off, sputtering.

"If you apologize, I _might _forgive you."

"I'm sorry." He said, chagrined. "I didn't mean any of it."

A mischievous smile crossed Lan Chi's face. "Then I _might _let you get me in a hold. Or I might _not_."

Zuko's brow rose. "Is that a challenge?"

"If you think that is, then it is."

"Fine." Zuko went into a ready position, and Lan followed suit. "See if you can best me, Cousin."

"With my eyes closed."

They circled each other for a moment, and then they truly began sparring, with thrusts and jabs and blocks and sweeps, until Zuko had Lan in a choke hold, his forearm against her neck, and her back pressed to him.

"Have I ever told you," he whispered in her ear, "how beautiful you are when you fight?"

"No." She muttered, trying to strategize the best way to escape.

"Zuko! No holds!" Uncle called.

Lan took that moment to throw Zuko over her shoulder, and knelt on him, a knee on his chest. "You could tell me now."

He grabbed her knee and twisted. "You're beautiful when you fight."

She toppled over him and he sprang to his feet, although not before she caught his ankle and dragged him back down.

He grabbed her wrist and broke her grasp. "You won't be able to beat me, Lan. Don't bother trying."

"I have a few tricks up my sleeve." They both jumped to their feet and circled one another again.

She leapt towards him, finally, and brought her leg up to kick him in the chest. It connected, and he staggered back.

He looked at her, and a slow smile came over his face. "You really are good. I didn't notice that last time."

"Thank you." She tried again, but he was prepared, and grabbed her leg, dropping her to the ground.

She squirmed from his grip, and got to her feet.

They circled each other again.

"Although I am enjoying this," Zuko said, his voice low so that it would not carry. "I would really rather kiss you than hit you."

"Are you trying to distract me?" Her eyes narrowed.

"No. Really. I'm not. Will you meet me on deck tonight after dark?"

She smiled. "You _are_ trying to distract me."

"Will you?"

"Of course." She gave a dimpled smile before giving him a heel palm thrust that caused him to fall back.

They continued on for several minutes, striking and feinting and dodging, until they were both winded.

Neither got the upper hand; although Zuko was clearly the superior tactician and had greater strength, Lan was quick and lithe, and able to extricate herself from nearly all situations. And, unlike the last time, she had not allowed emotion or adrenalin to control her, and her movements were more sure.

Finally, Zuko held his hands up to call a cessation. "I beg mercy, Cousin." He smiled, breathing heavily.

She straightened. "Would the Avatar give you mercy?"

"You're not the Avatar."

"Exactly. You cannot even finish a fight with me. How do you expect to best a man who has mastered all four elements?"

"Lan, he's over a hundred years old. I'll manage. Besides, I'll have Uncle and Jee and the other men to help me. Provided Uncle's ankle has healed, of course."

"Shifty old man." She said without rancor.

He nodded and held out a hand towards a bucket of water. "I'm thirsty. Let's stop this."

She dropped the defensive stance that she had taken. "Fine. But don't blame me if the Avatar wipes the floor with you."

He smiled, and they walked over to Iroh, who was watching them only half-heartedly. "Ah. Done so soon?"

Lan and Zuko exchanged looks. "Yes, Uncle. We're done."

Zuko offered her the ladle first, and she took it with a smile, allowing her hand to brush against his. He watched her as she drank, and had to resist the urge to wipe away the trickle of water that ran down her neck.

When she handed him back the ladle, his hand closed around hers briefly before taking it.

She shot a look at Iroh, but he was peering at the tiles, and had not seen. She breathed a sigh of relief.

"Would you like to play now, Dear?" Iroh smiled up at her.

With a brief glance at Zuko, she nodded. "Of course, Uncle."

* * *

_I shouldn't be doing this. _Lan closed the door of her cabin behind her, and looked anxiously down the hall.

_I know that I shouldn't. _She walked casually to the ladder that led to the main deck, and began to descend.

_This is a bad idea. _She put her feet on the floor, and turned to the door.

_Uncle was right. _She pushed the door open and peered out cautiously.

_And I'll probably have to leave Zuko in a month or so, anyway. _She stepped out onto the deck, and immediately had to put a bracing hand against the wall.

_I'll break his heart. And mine_. The wind was strong, and she hugged her robe around her more tightly. She was wearing an emerald green robe that she knew complemented her coloring, although she failed to remember that it was dark on deck at night.

She could feel the wind whip beneath her robe, and, were it not for the fact that it was cinched tight around the waist and made with a narrow skirt, it would have blown upwards, exposing her to whomever happened to be near. Perhaps she should have changed into something more – practical, like sparring clothing.

Luckily, there seemed to be no one around, and she fought against the wind to the railing. She looked out into the black, black night, and saw only the twinkling of stars and the crescent moon. She looked down into the black, black depths of the sea, and saw only the white foam churned up by the ship.

Tendrils of hair started to escape from her braid, and she put her hands up to try to tuck them back in, but to no avail. More of it pulled free, and, suddenly, her ribbon was gone, caught on the wind, and she was left trying to catch her hair in her hands as it flew free, jumping into the air only to fall or switch directions as the wind did.

She tried to grab it all in one hand, but it blew into her face, blinding her, and she had to use two hands, although subduing it was nearly impossible.

"Having trouble?" Asked a loud voice behind her, and she jumped.

"Zuko!" A lock of hair escaped again and got caught in her mouth.

"Did I scare you?" He stepped closer so that she could hear him easily.

She shook her head. "Startled me."

He gave a small smile. "Sorry. I said your name _three _times, but you didn't hear."

"The wind is loud."

He nodded. "Come with me." Without waiting for an answer, he grasped her arm and walked her over to a sheltered doorway.

"Better?" He asked, as her hair settled down.

She nodded and smiled. "Yes. Dumb hair."

He gave another smile and shook his head, and, with two fingers on each hand, began pulling it away from where it clung to her face. "It's not dumb. I've already told you it's beautiful."

Her pulse began to thump, and she looked up at him mutely.

"You're late." She finally whispered, almost unable to breathe.

There was that little smile again. "I don't recall setting a time."

"You said '_after dark_.' It's been dark for a half hour already."

He smiled. "Eager to see me?"

"What? Don't be ridiculous!" She protested.

"Liar." Satisfied that he had liberated as much of her hair from her face as he could, he settled his hands on her shoulders.

"Well, aren't you eager to see me?" She asked testily.

"What do you think? I've waited over two years for you, Lan."

"Zuko..." She began, plaintively.

"What? Shouldn't I say that? It's true."

"Maybe we shouldn't say anything at all." She was regretting this rendezvous. Should Iroh catch them, he would be _livid_!

"I'll second that." He leaned in to her, but she stepped back.

"I meant that perhaps we should go to bed."

Even in the half-light, she could see the shock on his face.

"No! Oh, no, no, no, no, no, _no_! I didn't mean _that_!" Her hands flew up to a face so red that it felt hot to the touch.

"Oh." He seemed disappointed, and she thought that she should change the subject.

"Ah, so, um, when will we get to port?"

He shrugged. "Tomorrow, probably, unless the wind keeps up."

"Oh." She couldn't take her eyes off him, with the weak light of the stars and moon leaving most of his face in shadow.

"Are you tired?" He asked, removing a hair from her face.

It was her turn to shrug. "Not really. You know I'm a creature of the night."

"That sounds ominous."

She gave a small smile. "I didn't mean it to. Water Tribe seem to draw their power from the moon, like the Fire Nation draws it from the sun."

"Hmm. That makes sense." He lifted her hair off her shoulders and allowed it to fall down her back. "You never cut your hair, do you?"

"Not as long as I can remember. I trim it, sometimes, to keep it healthy, but that's all."

"That was the first thing I noticed about you. Your hair."

"When?"

"The day we met. Do you remember?"

She nodded silently, mesmerized by him.

"Azula couldn't stop talking about your hair, the whole ride home. She said it was like fire."

"And then she tried to _set_ it on fire." She grinned.

He gave a small laugh. "She's horrible."

"I'm glad you're not like her."

"She's like my father. More than I am."

She didn't want to comment – Ozai, of course, was always a sore spot, and she didn't really want to spend the rest of the night talking about him.

He twisted a portion of her hair around one finger. "Sometimes, I don't want to be – _him_."

She was puzzled. "Who? Your father?"

"No. Me. I don't want to be _Prince Z_uko. I just want to be – Zuko."

She didn't know what to say, so she remained silent, staring at him.

He smiled again, suddenly. "Let's go back into the wind."

"My hair will go all over."

"So? Who's to see?"

She tried to think of another reason. "It's cold."

"I'll keep you warm.'

He grabbed both her hands and, giving up, and laughing, she allowed herself to be pulled back out onto the deck.

Her hair flew around her again, and she tried, in vain, to bring it all under control, until she felt Zuko's hands on her hair, catching it and pulling it behind her head.

"Ill just stand here and hold it for you." He smiled down at her from his superior height, his arms draped over her shoulders.

"Thank you."

His smile dissolved as he looked down into her shining eyes, and he released her hair to grip her shoulders. He dipped his head as her hair started flying around them again, so that, when he kissed her, a lock of her hair was caught between their mouths.

She pulled it out impatiently and put her arms around his neck, bringing him closer, and they were surrounded by a red cloud of her hair.

He moved to kiss her face, his hands cradling her head, and she began laughing joyously, her eyes closed.

He pulled away and looked at her with a puzzled expression. "Are you – laughing at me?"

"No." She shook her head, her eyes still closed. "I'm so – _happy, _and I'm scared that I'm dreaming this."

A sudden grin came to his face. "It's _really _not a dream." He kissed her again, his tongue going into her mouth. She wanted to burst with happiness, and her doubts of earlier fled.

The doubts always fled when she was in his arms. This – _this _was what she had wanted for _so _long. For as long as she could remember.

And Uncle Iroh's words meant nothing.

He slanted his mouth differently and was rewarded by her body pressing closer to his. His hands spread out on her back and dropped lower until they were above the curve of her buttocks.

He lips left her mouth and dragged across her cheek. "I was never so happy to see a blockade in my entire life." He admitted breathlessly.

"Yes. Spirits, yes. I almost wanted to thank the Earth Kingdom." She confessed.

"Let's not go _that _far."

* * *

She stood in the circle of his arms, looped around her torso, her back against him, and they stood at the railing, looking out over the glint of the moon on the ocean, the light dipping and rising with each wave, and they were completely, unreservedly, _blissful_.

"Should we tell Uncle?" Zuko asked, resting his chin on the top of her head.

She shook her head vigorously, and he bit the edge of his tongue.

"No. We should _not _tell Uncle."

"Ow. Why not? I know that you say..."

She turned to him. "Zuko. We should _not _tell Uncle. Trust me."

He looked at her, his eyes narrowed, unconvinced. "You think that he would object."

"Well, considering that I am supposed to be marrying someone else, yes, I think that he might."

Zuko gave a deep sigh. "Fine. We won't tell him."

"Thank you." She turned around again, and he tightened his arms so that she was pressed back against him.

"We'll need to be careful around him, then."

"Yes, we will. He always seems to _know _everything."

"Hmm. So no kissing in front of him."

"We never did that when we were engaged. We _definitely _shouldn't do it now."

He kissed her shoulder. "He'll have to find out some time, you know."

Her pulse quickened. Iroh would never find out because she would be gone in six weeks, _before_ he could find out. "He can find out when you've figured a way for me to avoid marrying _that man_."

"You could just marry me, instead. It's hard to marry someone else when you're _already_ married."

"Zuko." Her voice was strident, which she instantly regretted. "_That _is not a solution. Defying your father will _not _make him accept me. It _will _make him hate me and throw me in prison."

"No, it won't. Lan – I _know _that, once we're married, he'll feel differently."

She sighed, turned again, and looked into his face. "Zuko. He won't. You _know _that. He won't change his mind."

"Yes, you've said that." He said testily. "But..."

She put her hands on his cheeks. "Let's not talk about it. Please."

He still looked miffed, and she stood on the tips of her toes to kiss him.

She smiled. "Let's just – enjoy tonight."

He reluctantly smiled back, and she sighed with relief.

She did not want to waste the time she had with Zuko to be wasted on talk of Ozai. She and Zuko were living on borrowed time, even if he didn't know it.

She wished that _she_ didn't know. It would make everything so much easier.

It would make her so much happier.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. I am ALSO hoping that everything will go smoothly with writing from this point on. I think that my compass is now pointing me in the right direction, and it should be easy sailing! Anyway, lots of plot to come!

PLEASE review so that I can achieve my goal of being one of the most reviewed ATLA fan fics! Thank you, thank you, thank you!


	38. Chapter 38

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN _NICKELODEON'S AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER_ OR ITS CHARACTERS. I just hope all my chakras are open!**

* * *

How had it gone _so_ wrong? How had she let it get _so_ out of her control?

Lan looked behind her in the dim light of the street lantern, and, although she saw no one, she could hear their shouts and the thundering of their running feet.

She darted into an alley on the left, between two squalid, low buildings that smelled of rotting vegetables, and prayed that it was not a dead-end.

Her prayers were answered; only a rickety fence barred her way – feeble enough that a shoulder against it splintered it and allowed her to squeeze through.

She found herself in an empty lot; the shell of a burned-out building lay in front of her, and she began picking her way over collapsed walls to reach the other side. She thought she heard voices again, closer this time, and she quickened her step.

The port was in the direction she was heading – she was sure of it. She would be safe there. Safe on Zuko's ship...

If she could only reach it before her pursuers caught up to her.

* * *

_Earlier That Day..._

I've never been here before." Lan stood next to Zuko on the bridge as the ship entered the harbor of Changsuo Shui. The city, which was on the southern coast of the Earth Kingdom, was the closest Fire Nation port to Whale Tail Island.

It was here that Zuko had chosen to stop to send a message to Tao Xing.

"Me neither, although I don't know why. It is fairly close to the Southern Air Temple, after all." He turned to her.

She smiled. "Well, we're here now."

He gave her a small smile in return, but had to resist the temptation to take her hand. Crewmen were everywhere, readying the ship for arrival – and he did not know when Iroh might pop up to interrupt them.

As if conjured, his uncle came to stand behind Lan Chi. "It has been _years _since I was in Changsuo Shui. Twenty, I would say, to be exact." He put a hand on Lan Chi's arm. "I came, believe it or not, with your father. It was _right _before he met your mother, as I recall. He left here to patrol the northern seas. And found her." He smiled kindly.

Lan covered his hand with hers, although there was a lump in her throat that prevented her speaking.

Zuko was again torn by the desire to touch her; instead, he cleared his throat. "I am hoping that they will have some information on the Avatar."

Iroh was jerked back to the present. "Yes. As am I. I wonder," he mused, "who the garrison's commander is." He smiled at Zuko. "Perhaps I know him."

Zuko nodded. "That would be – helpful."

Jee came up and bowed. "Your Highness, we should be tied up within a half hour."

"Than you, Jee. As soon as we are, send a messenger to the garrison to inform them of our arrival." He turned to Iroh. "Uncle, have you prepared the message to be sent to Tao Xing?"

"Ah, well, not _quite_, Prince Zuko." At Zuko's dark look, he blushed. "I will do so now."

"Please do." He watched as Iroh rolled his eyes and left them.

Lan gave Zuko a sly look. "_I _could have written the message."

"Let him earn his keep."

She moved closer to him, although not so close that it would garner attention. "And how should I earn my keep?" She murmured.

One side of his mouth lifted, although his eyes remained fixed on the city as it grew nearer. "If you meet me in the hold in five minutes, I can show you."

* * *

"Uncle, _really_?"

"Just one more moment, Nephew. I am certain that it rolled under here."

Iroh's voice came from somewhere near the floor, where he was crouched, his head under the bank of instruments that monitored the vital systems of Zuko's ship.

Zuko folded his arms over his chest, and shot Lan an aggrieved look.

She shrugged. "Shall I help, Uncle?"

"No, no, I am – ah! Found it!" He scooted from under the counter, a pai sho tile in his hand.

"_Must _you drag your pai sho set along?"

"Prince Zuko," Iroh said patiently as Jee assisted him from the floor, "I have not see Zheng Liu in thirty-five years! Of course we are going to play pai sho." He walked over to the low table, where his pai sho game waited for its final piece. "He was quite a good pai sho player in his day. I wonder if he had kept it up?" He looked hopeful.

"I could not care less if he can _juggle _the pieces. And you along with them!" Zuko snapped.

Iroh laughed. "That would be quite a feat."

"Can we _go _now?" Zuko straightened his armor.

"Of course. Lan, would you do the honor?" He extended his game set to Lan.

"Of course, Uncle. I'll carry it like an adored child." She smiled.

Zuko rolled his eyes. "We've already kept the rhinos waiting a quarter of an hour. You know how hard it is to get the animals moving if they have been just standing around for too long."

"Let's go, then." Iroh said, leading the way to the ladder.

Zuko took the pai sho set from Lan, and she tucked her arm through his. "Thank you, Cousin." She smiled at him, hoping that none of the men on the bridge would notice the gesture.

He shrugged. "You shouldn't be his servant."

She descended the ladder first, followed by Zuko.

At the base of the ladder, Iroh waited for her. "Oh, has Zuko the set now? Zuko!" Iroh called up. "Be careful not to tip it to the side."

"I won't." He indicated the door. "Now, please, let's go. I want to talk to the Major General about the Avatar."

His uncle smiled at him. "We'll have dinner, and, over a nice game of pai sho, we'll ask."

"Joy."

The major general's home was only two blocks from the harbor, and it took little time to reach it.

"Oh, does the major general _not _live in the garrison?" Lan asked with interest.

"Some do not, you know. Changsuo Shui is almost _entirely _Fire Nation. There was no town here before we settled it. So there was no need for the governor of the town to secure himself within the garrison. Ah, here we are."

After Iroh scrambled from the carriage, Zuko followed and helped Lan Chi to alight, an appreciative gleam in his eyes at a flash of her knee between the edges of her robe.

"Thank you, Zuko."

"No, thank _you_, Cousin."

She tugged her robe back together, and he shook his head mournfully.

"Iroh! Is that you? Can that really be you?" A delighted voice interrupted their conversation, and a tall, thin man rushed from the house, which was tall and stately, with two soldiers at the gate.

He bowed deeply before them, and Iroh laughed, and threw his arms around his old friend. "Liu! You old flame beater! How are you?"

Zuko and Lan looked at one another, and Lan mouthed the words _'flame beater' _with her eyes wide.

"You look well!"

"As do you!"

"Bah." Iroh pounded on his belly. "Old and fat."

Zheng did the same. "Old and skinny."

They laughed together, until Zheng turned to Lan and Zuko. "Prince Zuko, I presume." He bowed deeply. "I am honored at your presence in my home."

Zuko returned the bow silently, and Iroh stepped in to introduce Lan. "My niece, Lady Lan Chi Sun."

"Don't tell me! Yan Sun was your father!"

She smiled and nodded. "Yes, Sir."

"A wonderful man – and leader. We miss him terribly."

"Thank you."

He gave a sad smile, and then seemed to shake it off. "Come inside, please. Dinner will be served soon."

Dinner was jolly, with Iroh and his old friend swapping tales of past exploits, and Lan and Zuko, seated next to each other, secretly holding hands beneath the table.

After the meal was cleared and tea served, Zuko cleared his throat. "Major General, Sir, I was wondering what legends there are surrounding the Avatar in this region."

Zheng's brow raised. "Ah. I was wondering if you might ask, Your Highness. I am aware of your mission, of course. But I am afraid that I can be of no help – unless of course you might take advice from an old man who advises you to give up such folly."

Zuko's face drained of all color. "I – I beg your pardon?"

He smiled kindly. "The Avatar is long dead. Dead with the rest of his kind, I'm afraid, and the cycle broken." He turned to Iroh for support. "How can he not be? The world is out of balance, and with no chance of regaining it. No," He nodded at Zuko. "You would do best, Your Highness, to spend this time learning as much about the world as possible. _That _will be your chance at returning home. Your father will see worth in a young man who has traveled extensively and learned much. _Real _knowledge of the world, and wisdom. _That _is worth as much as ten Avatars."

Zuko's face reddened. "But I have been tasked with finding the Avatar, Sir."

"Yes, I know. But, as I said, I doubt that is possible. And," he held up a finger, "I think perhaps the Fire Lord knows that. So take it as a lesson, and _listen _to your uncle, and to your people scattered throughout the world, and _take _that knowledge and return to Royal Caldera in triumph." He looked at Zuko with great consideration. "I have something for you, Your Highness." He stood. "Please, come with me. Iroh, you, as well – and, you, too, Lady Lan Chi."

Puzzled, the three of them followed their host up two flights of stairs to a room with a wide balcony, the doors of which were thrown open to the cool night breezes.

It was obviously the major general's office, with a desk, and, of course, a portrait of Ozai on the wall.

Zheng removed the portrait to expose the safe beneath, and Lan's pulse jumped.

Zheng took a key ring from a pocket of his robe, and removed the lock, laying it on the desk.

He pulled open the door and rifled through the papers inside, until he drew out a small, thick book, which he handed to Zuko.

"What is it?" Zuko asked quietly.

"It is an account of Avatar Roku's journey to become a fully-realized Avatar. He was not much older than you when he left home, you know."

Zuko shook his head, and leafed through the book wonderingly.

"And it is right that you should have it, Your Highness. After all..." He trailed off when Iroh shook his head slightly, something that Lan saw, although Zuko did not.

She frowned at her uncle, but he shot her an expression of warning.

Zuko finally looked up at his host. "After all, what?"

"Um." He sent a quick look at Iroh. "You are the crown prince, after all." He smiled.

Zuko gave a small smile, and bowed. "Thank you, Sir. I am most – grateful."

Zheng smiled, and turned to Iroh. "I saw that you brought pai sho, Iroh. You still play?"

"Do I _play_?" Iroh was scandalized.

Zheng laughed, and the two men left the room, chatting companionably about the game, leaving Zuko and Lan behind.

Lan's eyes could not help but stray to the open safe.

"Lan! Zuko! Are you coming?" Iroh called back to them.

She reluctantly followed, pulling Zuko, who was reading the book, along with her.

As she walked, she planned. The safe was open, and accessible – but for who knew how long? She couldn't just abandon Zuko and go steal some papers. And, even if she did, she would have nowhere to hide them for a long period of time – they could be here _hours _while Uncle and Zheng played pai sho!

An idea came to her as they settled down on a small sofa in the major general's salon, and the two older men began setting up the playing board.

She looked at Zuko, who was intent on the gift that Zheng had given him, and opened her mouth to speak. "Zuko –"

"Listen to this, Lan." Zuko interrupted her without realizing it, and turned to her slightly. "This account was supposedly written by a contemporary of Roku's," he pointed at a page, "and it references a small island in the northern ocean where Roku did the majority of his earthbending training. An island about a mile off the mainland."

"So?"

"It was unoccupied." He looked at her. "A perfect place for someone to hide for a hundred years. _Especially _an earthbender."

She frowned at the passage. "_That's_ interesting." Despite her desire to leave the house immediately, she found herself intrigued.

"And, if the current Avatar had access to Roku's memories –"

"Does he?" She interrupted.

"I don't know. Perhaps. Even if he only has access to Roku's journals..."

"He might have had those – unless they're at Avatar Roku's shrine. Have you ever seen his journals?"

Zuko sighed. "On Crescent Island? _In _the Fire Nation? Not likely."

"Oh." She realized that any clues that were in the Fire Nation were beyond Zuko's reach.

"But we _can _go to this island. Lan – it's outside the mouth of the Pohuai River."

"Really?"

He smiled and nodded. "This is a _real _lead."

_Like the lead at Nanzhou_? Her treacherous mind asked, but she subdued it.

She smiled. "Yes."

He gave her a brief, grateful smile in return. "I'm sorry, Lan, I interrupted you earlier. What were you going to say?"

She brought her thoughts back to her mission. "Oh. I – I was going to tell you that – I'm not feeling well."

He had gone back to the book, but tore his eyes from the page to look at her, concern on his face. "What's wrong?"

"I – I'm feeling –" she shrugged, "out of sorts. I have a headache, and I feel – flushed."

He peered at her. "You look a bit red. Have you a fever?" He touched her cheek, and she was sure that her pulse jumped, if not her temperature. "You do seem a bit – hot." He closed the book. "I'll take you back to the ship."

"What? No!" She protested, a bit too strongly, and he appeared surprised. "You – you don't have to cut your evening short."

He looked at Iroh and Zheng. "What does it matter? The major general has no information for me, and those old coots will be playing pai sho all night." He stood. "I'll just tell Uncle that we're going. Besides, I –"

"No!" She said again, and he looked at her with alarm. "I – don't want to – make you leave and – miss whatever else the major general has to say."

"What else could he say? He's already made it clear that he doesn't even think that Avatar is alive." He held up the book. "The fact that I found a clue in this book is a coincidence."

He rose and walked over to Iroh, and, with a sigh of frustration, and a reminder to herself to appear sick, she dragged herself after Zuko.

He and Iroh were deep in conversation, and her uncle looked at her in sympathy. "Lan, are you not feeling well?"

She shook her head. "It's nothing, Uncle. Just a bit of a headache. You – all needn't interrupt your evening. I'll just go back to the ship and see you in the morning."

"Nonsense. Zuko will escort you."

Zuko bowed to their host. "Thank you for dinner, Major General, and for Roku's book. I shall treasure it."

Zheng bowed in return. "Will you stay in port much longer?"

Zuko shook his head. "I think not. The tide comes very early tomorrow, and I am anxious to get back out to sea." He shot Lan a look that cautioned her to be silent on his discovery, and she gave an imperceptible nod.

"Oh, that _is _a shame! I had wanted to chat with you a bit longer, Your Highness. There are so many people who support your cause – even if you do not realize it, and I was hoping that your uncle and I – and you, of course, could discuss it over tea."

Lan saw an opportunity, and she laid a hand on Zuko's arm. "Oh, Zuko, _do _stay. I'm just going to go back to the ship and go to bed. _Really_. I don't need a nursemaid."

"I'll call for tea. We can talk about it over the game, can't we, Iroh?" Zheng smiled at his game partner.

"Of course. Perhaps we can even get Zuko interested in pai sho."

"Doubtful, Uncle." He looked at Lan uncertainly. It seemed obvious to her that he wanted to stay. "I'll walk you to the carriage anyway." He made up his mind, and smiled and bowed to the two older men.

Lan gave a silent sigh of relief, and made her farewells.

"I don't have to stay, you know." Zuko said as they walked out to the carriage.

She gave what she hoped was a wan smile. "No. I want you to stay."

They reached the carriage, and she turned to him. "The major general is a _very _important man in the colonies, Zuko. If he has taken an interest in you, it – bodes well for your future."

He smiled, and brought one of her hands to his lips to kiss it. "_Our _future." He corrected quietly.

She nodded, and touched his cheek briefly. "Yes. Our future."

He saw her into the carriage and closed the door. "I'll see you in the morning. I hope that you feel better."

"I'm certain that I will. I'll just take a hot bath and go to bed."

He nodded, and stepped back, raising his hand as the carriage pulled away.

Lan breathed deeply and settled back for the short ride. She had a job to do, and not a lot of time to do it.

* * *

Once back in her cabin, she ran a bath while she dressed in her thief's clothes, and, after the tub was filled, turned off the water. She wanted to maintain the fiction that she was in the bath, in case anyone happened by, and, after locking her cabin door from the inside, she assembled all that she would need for the caper: a rope, several corked metal scroll tubes, and a flagon of water, which she affixed to her waist.

She opened the window and tied the rope to the frame, and, leaning out, peered down to the deck. In the dark, she could see no one, and felt safe throwing the end of the rope out of the window. Her window faced an empty ship berth rather than the dock, for which she was grateful – it would allow her to go and come without being easily spotted.

She put the opera mask in place and lowered herself, hand over hand, down the rope, grateful for the gloves that she wore. The rope, however, ended about ten feet up from the deck, and, with a prayer skyward, she dropped.

She landed heavily, and, although she staggered against the wall, she was unhurt.

Adjusting her mask so that it fit snugly over her face, she ran along the ship's tower until she was opposite the gangplank down to the dock.

With a quick glance around her, she stole across the deck and raced down the ramp. At the bottom, she sprinted to a large coiled pile of rope, where she rested for a moment, and spied to see whether there was anyone near.

A small group of sailors were gathered around a fire pot at one end of the pier, far enough way that she could avoid them, and she made her way in the opposite direction until she was off the docks, crouched in the shadow of a building.

She stayed a long moment to set her bearings, then, with another watchful look around her, she made her way from shadow to shadow, trying to remain out of the light of the street lanterns.

She found her way back to the major general's house easily. There were still two guards at the gate, but none patrolled the perimeter, and it took Lan little time to find a tree whose branches reached over into the courtyard.

She dropped quietly to the paving stones and dashed to the house, where she waited in the shadows for sound of her discovery.

No noise came to her other than that of water in the courtyard's fountain, and she breathed more easily.

Now to get up to the third floor.

It was simple: drag a chair from across the courtyard – quietly, so no one could hear, and climb from it to the first balcony. Peer over the railing to determine if anyone could see her, and, after determining that there was no one in sight, balance on the precariously small lip that ran around the balcony.

From there, climb onto the railing and leap upwards to the balcony above.

All while Iroh, Zheng, and Zuko sat in the room...

She accomplished it, though, and, on the third floor balcony, she took a moment to calm her erratically beating heart before dashing over to the desk and the safe, still unsecured.

Pushing away the thought that she was betraying _yet _another person who had shown her kindness, she rifled through the papers inside the safe and chose several that spoke of strategy and troop numbers.

Rolling the parchments up, she secured them in the scroll tubes she had brought, and secreted them inside her shirt.

Now it was time to escape.

It had all been relatively easy to this point, and she hoped that it continued.

She was doomed to disappointment.

* * *

"You should know, Prince Zuko," Zheng's eyes slid to Zuko sideways as he moved a pai sho piece, "that I am a _very _loyal citizen of the Fire Nation."

Zuko looked at him quizzically, then shot his uncle a confused look. "I – I am certain that you are, Sir."

Zuko was seated on a cushion near the two older men, a cup of tea at his knee. He had listened to them swap war stories and reminisce about friends lost along the way, and was nearly ready to make his excuses to his host and go back to the ship.

"I have seen _much_, Your Highness." Zheng indicated Iroh. "As has your uncle."

Iroh nodded as he contemplated his next move.

"And I want nothing more than for the Fire Nation to fulfill its destiny."

Zuko nodded slowly, not knowing the direction in which the major general was going. "Of – course."

"We have been at war my entire life." Zheng said solemnly. "_Our _entire lives."

Zuko nodded again in acknowledgment.

"The people are tired of war."

Zuko bobbed his head briefly.

"Our men are born to be raised into warriors and to die on the battlefield. _I _know this. Your uncle knows this."

Iroh looked sad, and Zheng continued. "The Fire Nation requires a strong leader."

Zuko's brows drew down. "We – we _have _a strong leader. My father is – strong."

"Strength does not come from muscle, but rather from wisdom."

Zuko paled. It sounded like – sedition. "I – I don't understand, Sir."

Zheng gave a small smile. "The Fire Nation is stretched thin, Prince Zuko. _Too _thin. We cannot control all of the land that we have conquered. Some of our people live in poverty because we are devoting resources – valuable resources – to a war we _cannot _win."

"But, I – we..." Zuko trailed off, and looked pleadingly at Iroh.

Iroh sent a look at his old friend, and then at his nephew. "Zuko, there is no shame in the Fire Nation _re-evaluating_ its position on the war."

"Re-evaluating its position on the war?" Zuko repeated his uncle's words. "You mean _retreating_, don't you?"

Zheng looked at him sharply. "The future of the Fire Nation is at stake, Your Highness. And I think that you will be the one to pull us from the quagmire of this war, and lead us into the future."

Zuko paled visibly. "Wh – what are you saying?"

Zheng gave a small bow. "I am saying that I am your man, Your Highness, if you have need of me."

Zuko looked at Iroh, who was silent, although his eyes soberly stared at the prince. Zuko stood abruptly, and walked across the room, He stood at the open balcony doors for a moment, then stepped through, and walked to the railing. He could hear, from below him, the calming sound of water in a fountain, and he drew in a deep breath.

What had Zheng just said to him? What had Iroh said, in saying nothing?

He closed his eyes.

Why was everything in his life so _complicated_?

* * *

Lan perched on the railing of the third floor balcony, and, still holding onto the banister, slowly lowered herself so that she was dangling between the second and third floors.

She kicked her foot gently to find the railing on the lower balcony, and, not finding it, glanced down.

And saw Zuko standing right in front of her, his eyes wide, staring at her as if she were a specter.

Her instincts took over, and, with one foot finding stability on the balustrade, she kicked out with the other, connecting with Zuko's chest, sending him sprawling backwards.

She dropped down onto the railing, and exploded off it into the courtyard, with sounds of Zuko yelling, and with sounds of voices in response.

Although she landed heavily, she sprang to her feet quickly and took off. She found a tree near the wall and climbed into it, even as she heard the sound of running feet behind her.

A few more seconds and she was over the wall and running in the direction of the harbor.

* * *

Zuko's eyes opened, and opened wider, when he saw something dangling in the air before him. Something in human form, but with a grotesque face – blue and white, with jutting fangs and bared teeth that, he assumed, was meant to be a smile.

His jaw dropped in shock, and he watched, almost in a daze, as one of the creature's legs raised and came at him, sending him flying back into several potted plants and wrought iron furniture, which crashed in a cacophony of shattered pottery and the screeching of fallen chairs.

He lay there stunned as the apparition perched in front of him for a moment, and then disappeared.

Iroh and Zheng, in a flurry of voices, rushed out to the tableau that he formed, and stood staring at him, stupefied.

Zuko's face reddened, and he jumped up. "Don't stand there! Something just attacked me!" He dashed to the railing and saw the creature running away – escaping.

"There!" He pointed after it.

Soldiers and servants, drawn into the courtyard and into the room by the noise, stared dumbly at Zuko for a moment.

"Get after it!" Zuko yelled, and vaulted over the balustrade, landing gracefully on the cobbled stones.

He led the way, directing some of the soldiers out the front of the building and around, while he and several others followed the wraith up the tree and over the wall.

* * *

How had it gone _so_ wrong? How had she let it get _so_ out of her control?

Lan looked behind her in the dim light of the street lantern, and, although she saw no one, she could hear their shouts and the thundering of their running feet.

She darted into an alley on the left, between two squalid, low buildings that smelled of rotting vegetables, and prayed that it was not a dead-end.

Her prayers were answered; only a rickety fence barred her way – feeble enough that a shoulder against it splintered it and allowed her to squeeze through.

She found herself in an empty lot; the shell of a burned-out building lay in front of her, and she began picking her way over collapsed walls to reach the other side. She thought she heard voices again, closer this time, and she quickened her step.

The port was in the direction she was heading – she was sure of it. She would be safe there. Safe on Zuko's ship...

If she could only reach it before her pursuers caught up to her.

Before Zuko caught up to her.

She came to another fence, and squeezed her way through broken boards, but she knew that would not stop her pursuers. Firebenders could make kindling of a wooden fence.

She came around a building, and skittered to a halt. Zuko stood ahead of her, backed by two soldiers.

She turned to retreat, and heard the pounding of footsteps.

A building with a low porch overhang was her only escape route, and she ran towards it and, jumping, grabbed onto the metal roof, even as Zuko and the others started to enclose her.

As she was pulling herself up, she heard the roar of a flame, and felt it scorch her shoulder.

She gave a cry of pain, but, ignoring the searing in her flesh, desperately climbed onto the roof and ran along it.

She turned only briefly to see Zuko following, his steps sure and light, and she was certain that he would catch her.

A gap in the row of buildings loomed in front of her, and, without thinking, she leapt the opening, and, although she succeeded in reaching the next building, she landed on the burned shoulder and rolled down the slope of the roof.

She hit the ground hard, but, a hand to her mask, she managed to scramble to her feet even as she heard Zuko hit the roof of the building from which she had just fallen.

She heard a crunch of metal as it gave way beneath him, and, although she was tempted to stop to assist him, she ran for the ship, which she could see in the distance.

A few minutes of running, and she was on the docks, and, although she could hear footfalls far behind her, she was fairly sure that no one was close by.

As she headed for the gangplank of the ship, a small group of soldiers appeared ahead of her, and she faltered.

How could she board the ship in full view?

She changed direction, and, with only a moment to think, she launched herself over the side of the pier.

"It's going in!" She heard someone shout, and her head broke through the water.

She called on all the waterbending spirits that she could think of, and on her own skills, as she submerged. Pulling the mask from her face, she spiraled down, the water twisting around her as she surged forward.

She could feel the ship's shape in the water, and she propelled herself towards it in a corkscrew.

She knew that she must come up on the far side – the side that her cabin was on – and that she would have to shoot from the water with enough velocity to reach the railing.

She had never done that before – had never launched herself from the water, and she wondered if she had the strength and the ability to do it.

With her eyes closed, she concentrated as she slid along the hull, and, with a tranquility of mind that she did not know that she possessed, and ignoring the stinging in her shoulder from the sea water, she swam up and up until she broke free from the water. The benevolent water did not desert her, surrounding her in a spiral wave. It carried her up until her hand found the railing of the ship, and then she shot past it, and, as she opened her eyes, she saw the end of the rope dangling from her window, and she grasped it.

The water snaked back down into the ocean, and she was left clinging to the side of the tower.

As she began the difficult ascent up the rope to her window, she could hear the voices of the searchers still on the dock.

"It was a water spirit!"

"Did you see it?

"Where did it go?"

"Where is it?"

"It disappeared!"

"It's gone behind that ship!"

The sky lit up with a burst of fire, and she knew, suddenly, that she had been seen.

"The spirit is _climbing _a wall!"

"No, it's not! It's _floating_! Or _flying_!"

The last words caused Lan Chi to try to increase her speed up the rope, and, despite the fact that her burned shoulder screamed at her, she managed to get herself up to and through her window.

Soaking wet, she ran to the armoire and yanked out the bottom drawer, shoving the scrolls, the rope, and the mask within.

Then, with a few flicks of her wrist, she pulled all of the water from the floor and tossed it out the window, and ran to her bathroom.

She stripped from the clothes from her body, tossed them in the waiting tub of water, and then followed, submerging herself and rinsing the ocean from her hair.

She heard a pounding on her cabin door, and, knowing that her time alone was limited, she quickly gloved her hand in water, and, reaching around, healed the burn as best she could.

"Lan! Lan, are you all right? Can you hear me?"

_Zuko!_ What was he doing at her door? Had he seen her climbing into the window?

She unbraided her hair even as the clamoring at her cabin door continued, and she stood and leaned over, grabbing for a towel that lay on a stool next to the tub.

Suddenly, the door burst open, and Zuko stood there, his eyes wild.

She turned to him and let out a scream, dropping back into the tub, on top of her discarded clothing, and covering herself with the towel.

"_Zuko_! What are you doing in here?"

He gaped at her for a long moment, and then pointed impotently out towards her cabin. "There – was a – water spirit that – we saw – climbing into your room."

"Have you lost your mind?!" She shouted at him. "Get out!"

"But, I – saw – or – at least I _think _I saw..." He trailed off, and his eyes went to the wet towel that drifted on the top of the water. "Why – why are you still in the tub?"

Why was she still in the tub?

Well, obviously she could not tell him the truth.

"_Excuse _me for falling asleep in the tub! Is that against some _obscure _Fire Nation law that I don't know about?"

He couldn't seem to take his eyes off her body, even distorted by the water. "I – no. No. Not that I – know of."

Iroh appeared behind him suddenly. "_Prince Zuko_! What is the meaning of this?"

Zuko turned to his uncle in a daze. "I thought that the spirit came in here."

"Well, the spirit is _surely _not hiding in my niece's _bathwater_!" He yanked Zuko from the room by his arm, shutting the door behind them both.

Lan stared at the door for a long while, shaking. That had been close.

Very, very close.

* * *

He was going to catch it. He _knew _that he was. It was just ahead of him, only feet separating them. He had singed it earlier with fire, and he now saw that its gray skin was burned away, leaving a rawness behind. He could do that again, and perhaps bring it down.

A long gap between the buildings came up in front of it – and he was certain that the spirit – whatever it was – would have to stop.

_Or fly across_, he thought suddenly. _Or fly away._

The wraith hurled itself forward and landed poorly, rolling down onto the ground far below.

_Got it now_! He smiled to himself and made the same jump, landing well.

He heard the buckling of the metal roof beneath him, and found himself crashing through, and sitting, dazed but unhurt, on a pile of twisted metal.

He shook his head to clear it and, ignoring a pain in his knee, got to his feet, and, breaking through the door, burst into the street to see the phantom disappearing around a corner.

He called for the soldiers who had been following him, and, as he saw them come up behind him in the distance, he took off in pursuit of his quarry.

He turned after it, and realized that it was leading him to the piers.

"Don't let it reach the water!" If it was truly a water spirit, it would head for the ocean.

He saw another group of men, and ordered them around the other side of the port. If they could catch the apparition before it reached the docks, there was a chance that they could head it off.

As he reached the wharf, he heard the shouts of the men, and he skidded to a stop.

"It dove into the water!" One of them shouted, pointing to the churning waves near – _his ship_!

"Find it!" He shouted. "See if it has surfaced!" He ran to the edge of the dock and sent a fireball into the air, throwing light into the surrounding area.

With the sky lit by fire and reflecting on the water, he peered into the depths, but saw nothing.

The men called to one another, shouting sightings or questions.

"It's gone behind that ship!" Someone called out, and Zuko's head snapped up.

His ship. It was behind _his _ship.

He darted farther along the dock and saw a huge wave swell up from the surface of the water, and, in the middle of the long finger of water that reached out, he saw the grinning, ghoulish face looking out at him.

The water suddenly retreated, and the creature was there, clinging like a leech to – _his ship_!

He sent a fireball out to illuminate the scene, and someone pointed to the creature. "The spirit is _climbing _a wall!"

"No, it's not! It's _floating_! Or _flying_!" Another soldier cried out.

It seemed to hang in space for a moment, then went scurrying up the side of the tower, towards...

_Lan Chi's window_!

With a panic born of fright, he stumbled back, but recovered and sprinted up the gangplank of his ship.

He did not know what spirits could do to a human – he had heard tales, as a child, of malevolent spirits stealing the souls of the unwary.

He did not want to think of losing Lan. Not to the spirit world. Not to anything – or anyone.

He climbed the tower ladder with a speed that came from fear, and raced down the corridor to her cabin.

He wrenched at the wheel, but it would not budge.

"Lan!" He pounded the door. "Lan! It's me, Zuko! Open up!" There was no response from within, and he pounded harder.

"_Lan Chi_! Let me in! Lan! Lan?!"

He stepped back, and, with a well-aimed kick at the lock, the door burst inward, and he entered.

The room was empty, although the window was open. He ran to it and, leaning through, searched for the wraith, but saw nothing.

Truly afraid now, he pulled his head in and turned.

The bathroom! She might be in there!

He ran to the door and flung it open.

She stood with her body turned slightly away from him, bending forward to retrieve a towel, completely and utterly nude.

He stopped, his hand on the knob, and stared, his jaw slack.

He had never seen a woman without clothing before, and he realized, at that moment, that women were – perfect. At least Lan was perfect. The curve of her buttocks, the dimples above them, the swell of her breasts, which he saw only briefly, the pale softness of her back – were apparently all designed by a benevolent, gracious god who appreciated beauty.

She saw him, screamed, and dropped back into the water. "_Zuko_! What are you doing in here?!" Her voice was shrill as she covered the top of the water with the towel.

He gaped at her for a long moment, his body responding to her nakedness, and then pointed lamely out towards her cabin. "There – was a – water spirit that – we saw – climbing into your room."

"Have you lost your mind?!" She shouted at him. "Get out!"

"But, I – saw – or – at least I _think _I saw..." He trailed off, and his eyes went to the wet towel that drifted on the top of the water. "Why – why are you still in the tub?"

She reddened. "_Excuse _me for falling asleep in the tub! Is that against some _obscure _Fire Nation law that I don't know about?"

He tried to make out, despite the distortion of the water, the shape of her body, and realized that his own body was starting to become uncomfortable. "I – no. No. Not that I – know of."

Iroh appeared behind him suddenly. "_Prince Zuko_! What is the meaning of this?"

Zuko turned to his uncle in a daze. "I thought that the spirit came in here."

"Well, the spirit is _surely _not hiding in my niece's _bathwater_!" He yanked Zuko from the room by his arm, shutting the door behind them both.

"Have you gone _mad_? What were you doing in Lan's _bathroom_, when she is _bathing_?" His face was mottled with rage.

Zuko blushed fiercely, the color reaching even his ears. "I – I saw the spirit climbing up to her window!"

Iroh's eyes narrowed. "Did you, indeed?"

Zuko's eyes widened when he realized that his uncle did not believe him. "Yes! I did! Ask the men! They saw it, too."

Iroh looked unconvinced. "Hmmm. Did you find it in here?"

"_What_?! No! Of course not! Does it _look _like I found a water spirit?"

"No. It does not." Iroh was still skeptical. "Perhaps we should look elsewhere, Prince Zuko. Someplace _other _than Lady Lan Chi's _bedroom_. Or bathroom."

Zuko gave an aggravated groan and stomped from the room, angry at his uncle's insinuations.

He _had _seen the spirit enter her window!

He had!

Hadn't he?

* * *

**Author's Notes: **I hope that you liked this chapter. The story is progressing nicely, I think (and hope).

PLEASE review so that I can reach my goal of this story being amongst the most reviewed!

Thank you SO, SO much!


	39. Chapter 39

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN _NICKELODEON'S AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER_ OR ITS CHARACTERS. I just think I'll get this fic done before the next book of _The Legend of Korra_ airs! Or maybe not...**

* * *

There was an insistent knocking on Lan Chi's door the next morning, but she ignored it, burrowing her head under her pillow.

"Lan?" Iroh's voice came through the door, and she winced. She did _not _want to see her uncle, but at least it wasn't Zuko.

"Lan, may I come in?"

She groaned and removed the pillow. She couldn't avoid _everyone _forever.

"Yes." She sat up. "After all, it's not as if my door _locks _anymore."

He peeked in with a small smile. "We'll get that fixed."

She shrugged but said nothing.

He came in the room and stood by her bed, watching her as if she were an invalid. "May I sit?"

She waved a hand, and he lowered himself onto the edge of her bed.

"How are you feeling this morning?"

"Embarrassed." She shook her head. "No. I'm lying. Mortified."

"Oh, yes. That, too."

She looked at him quizzically. "What did you mean?"

"Well, you weren't feeling well last night. That was the reason you had come back to the ship."

She had forgotten about the lie that she had told. "Oh. I feel – better, I suppose."

"You don't _look _better."

"Thank you, Uncle." She said dryly, and fell backwards onto her bed.

He chuckled. "Well, I suppose that that _was _rather insulting. I did not mean it to be."

Lan lay looking at the ceiling, wondering if she felt as bad as Iroh implied she looked. If she were sick, she could stay in her room the entire day. Or two.

"Perhaps I _am_ sick."

"Or perhaps you have decided that being sick would allow you to avoid Zuko."

She turned her head to look at him. "_You're _the one who said that I look sick."

"True." He acknowledged.

She sighed, and rolled on her side. "Remember how embarrassed I was when Zuko gave the crew a lecture on _looking _at me?"

"I do. It was not so long ago, after all."

"Hmm. I suppose not."

"Are you saying that this was more embarrassing?"

"Yes. He – _walked _in on me, Uncle. He saw – things. I think."

"Oh, dear."

"Do any of the crew members _know_?"

He smiled kindly. "I don't think so."

"Thank goodness."

"Zuko feels badly about what happened, you know."

"Ha!"

"He says that he _really _did think that the spirit had come into your room. He said that he was worried."

She had thought about what she would say when someone mentioned the spirit that they had seen. "He really thinks that they saw a _spirit_? Uncle, _surely _you don't believe that!" she scoffed.

Iroh shrugged. "I do not know what I believe. I have seen – many things in my life, Lan. Things that I cannot explain."

She watched him for a long moment. She had long suspected that he had encountered something otherworldly after the death of Lu Ten. "Have you ever seen a spirit?"

His brows raised. "I have seen much."

"But – spirits?"

He nodded. "Yes. But it is nothing that I can speak of."

She gave a brief nod, as well. "So, did you see this – spirit?"

"Only fleetingly. It seemed rather – corporeal, though."

"Oh."

"But _I _did not get a good look at it. And, if Zuko says that he saw it climbing the wall – or flying – perhaps he did."

"He saw it _flying_?"

"One of the soldiers saw it flying."

She looked at him keenly. "Well, it did _not_ fly into this room."

He gave a small smile. "No, I suspect it did not." He patted her on the knee. "Don't hide in here. The only way to cure embarrassment is to ignore it."

"Easy for you to say."

He chuckled. "I suppose it is. After all, Zuko has never walked in on me in the bath."

She had to smile at such a thought. "Thank goodness."

"I am certain Zuko feels the same."

"Was – was the spirit sighted again after Zuko saw it clinging to the wall?"

Iroh shrugged. "One of Zheng's men thought that he saw it on the docks later."

Lan nodded thoughtfully. Being that _she _was the spirit in question, she knew that the man was mistaken. "So we have no spirit stowaway, then."

"Apparently not. And, even if we did, I doubt that Zuko would want to delay the journey to Pohuai."

She shook her head. "Has he told you about the story in the book that the major general gave him?"

"Yes." Iroh's voice, if not his words, was revealing.

"You think nothing will come of it."

"I hope that something will."

"But you think it unlikely."

"I do. But I would not tell Zuko that. He is – hopeful. And I would not take his hope from him."

Lan gave a small smile. "No. Nor would I."

Iroh patted her knee again, and, with considerable effort, rose to his feet. "Get dressed, my dear, and come onto the deck. Once you face Zuko, all will be forgotten."

"I doubt that, Uncle. I doubt that _very _much."

* * *

Zuko had not forgotten what he had seen the night before. He had tried – oh, he had _tried_. He had pushed the image of Lan's body from his mind more than once, but, each time, it rushed back in, more vivid than before.

The creaminess of her skin.

The gentle swell of her buttocks.

The fullness of her breasts.

Every time he pictured her in his mind as she had been the night before, he tended to lose focus. He had had to abandon his efforts to read the account of Roku's life more than once the night before, and had even, early that morning, forgotten why he had left his cabin because he had been pre-occupied with the thought of Lan in his arms – in his bed.

Naked.

Naked – her arms twined around his neck, her breasts pressed against him...

_Spirits!_ Why couldn't he concentrate?!

A plaintive meowing demanded his attention, and he looked down at Taxiao, sitting impatiently at his feet.

He scooped her up distractedly, and stroked her under the chin. "What do you want, you silly cat?" He asked her, but her only answer was a loud purr, and he smiled.

He had been ignoring her lately, and she had _obviously _noticed.

"Hmm." He cooed at her. "Have you been jealous?"

She opened her eyes and looked at him in such a knowing way that Zuko almost laughed.

"Silly." He put her gently on the floor, and, with a final stroke along her back, he watched her walk away.

If only all females were as easy to please as Taxiao, life would be much simpler.

But the female he was thinking of was _certain _to be _much _less likely to forgive than Taxiao.

And _that _female was avoiding him.

She had not come out for breakfast, and, by mid-morning, she still had not made an appearance. She was _angry_, and he actually did not blame her. What he had done the night before – staring at her as if she were an _object _to ogle, had been crass, and boorish, and ill-becoming the crown prince of the Fire Nation.

He had wanted to apologize to her the night before, but Iroh had forbidden him to return to her room, and so he had stomped off, thwarted – thwarted and frustrated and _aroused._

And now he _had _to apologize – but he couldn't if she never came out of her room!

Although he _knew _better than to approach her in her cabin again, he wanted to – despite the fact that she would probably throw something at him when he knocked on her door – her _broken _door.

He sighed. That had to be fixed. Among other things.

"Ah, Prince Zuko." Iroh hailed him, and, with a silent sigh, he waited for his uncle to catch up to him.

"Yes, Uncle?" He _really _did not want to hear his uncle's jovial pearls of wisdom.

"I wanted to talk to you – about Lan Chi."

_Not again_!

Zuko held up a hand. "Please, Uncle. I know – I _know _that I should not have barged into her bath. You needn't tell me again."

"Actually, Prince Zuko, I wanted to let you know that Lan is – embarrassed."

Zuko colored in shame. "Oh – I – well. I guess – I suppose – that I – understand that."

Iroh nodded sagely. "And she does not want to come out of her room."

Zuko looked at his uncle dumbly.

"Shouldn't you do something?" Iroh prompted him.

Zuko's brow drew down. "_Do_? What do you want me to _do_? Take it back? _Unsee _her?"

"If only you could."

"Well, I can't. Obviously."

"You _could _try apologizing."

Zuko glared at him. "I _did _apologize." He lied. He wasn't going to tell him uncle that he _hadn't_.

Iroh was silent for a few moments. "I don't think that you did, Prince Zuko."

The look that Zuko gave him was fulminating. How _dare _his uncle doubt him? "I _did_."

"I don't believe so."

A low growl came from the prince's throat. "_Fine_." He spat. "I'll go apologize _now_."

With that, he stomped off in search of Lan.

Were he being honest with Iroh, which he was _not _being, he would have have told his uncle that he was _pleased _to apologize to Lan Chi; he would take any chance to see her free from Iroh's censure.

He hoped that she was ready to forgive him.

Of course she would be. It had been an accident.

Surely she could not hold _that _against him.

He made his way to her cabin, and stopped a few feet away.

She was standing outside her door, dressed in sparring clothes of a long-sleeved tunic, loose pants, and soft boots, and, although he knew that he should not be so excited at the sight of her in shapeless clothing, Zuko could see, in his mind, her naked body again.

With her back to him and her arms crossed, she looked down at the engineer, who was crouched in her open doorway, peering at the door.

"This door is bent, and this lock has been _destroyed_, my lady." He shook his head. "Prince Zuko must have been _desperate _to reach you."

Lan cleared her throat awkwardly. "He – uh – he thought that he saw the spirit enter my room through the window."

There was silence for a long moment as the engineer digested her excuse for Zuko. "Oh. Well, I – I suppose that I – understand."

Lan shifted uncomfortably. "Have you ever seen a spirit, Cho?"

The engineer shook his. "No. But my mam used to see them all the time." He shrugged. "Then again, she drank." He turned to Lan and grinned, but his smile melted away when he saw Zuko. He jumped to his feet, his face red. "Y – your Highness!" He bowed deeply, his hand nervously clutching the tool he had been using to examine the door.

Lan whirled, as well, dismay on her face.

"Cho." he acknowledged, then bowed to Lan Chi deeply. "My lady."

"Prince Zuko." Her voice was cold, and he grimaced inside. She was still angry.

He turned his attention back to Cho. "Will you be able to fix it?" He asked, indicating the door.

Cho flushed again. "Um, no, I don't think so, Your Highness. I _may _be able to straighten the door, but," he shook his head, "the lock is beyond repair."

It was Zuko's turn to redden. "Oh. I see. Can you not replace it with another door from somewhere else on the ship?"

"Yes. I think that I can. Spirits know that there are enough doors on this ship." Realizing that he had mentioned _spirits_, he rocked back and forth on his heels. "Your Highness. Sir." He bowed awkwardly.

"Just – _fix _the door." Zuko snapped, and Cho bowed again.

Zuko rolled his eyes, and turned to Lan, who was standing silently, watching their exchange. "Lady Lan Chi," he began, very formally, "Uncle would like to see you. Would you care to accompany me to see him?"

It was actually a huge lie. Iroh had not requested her. Zuko just wanted to speak to her away from Cho's prying eyes. The man was one of the worst gossips on the ship, next to the helmsman, and Zuko did not want to give the crew anything to chatter about regarding him and Lan.

Lan blinked. "Oh. I suppose. Yes."

He bowed again. "I am your servant, my lady." He held out his arm, and she reluctantly took it.

When they had turned a corner, Zuko spoke. "Cho was right, you know."

Lan, who had been silent, looked at him, startled. "What do you mean?"

"I _was_ desperate to reach you." He stopped and looked at her. "I was terrified that the spirit would break in and – hurt you."

"You _kicked _my door in and barged into my _bath _room!" She snapped.

"I'm sorry that I did that! That I – saw you. But I won't apologize for being afraid for you!"

She gave a small, exasperated smile, and her anger at him dissipated. "Zuko, I am _well_ able to defend myself."

His lips thinned. "Against a spirit? It _climbed _the side of the ship as if it were a _hogmonkey_! Who _knows_ that else it was capable of?"

Lan, remembering that Zuko did indeed think that the creature he had chased had been a spirit, tried to look surprised. "Oh. I – I didn't know that."

"And it _attacked _me, Lan! It kicked me _across_ a room!"

She almost wanted to smile at the expression on his face.

"It's _not _funny!" Zuko said hotly, and Lan realized that her smile must have escaped. "It was _big_! And _strong_!"

Lan wondered if he had seen _another_ spirit last night, because she wasn't sure that Zuko would classify _her _as big and strong.

Zuko continued. "And the thought that it might – hurt you. That it might – _take _you. I was out of my mind with fear."

She smiled again, and touched his scarred cheek softly. "Thank you."

"If – if anything happened to you, Lan, I don't know what I would do." His eyes were anxious.

Her smile became loving. "Nothing will happen to me. I'm strong. And stubborn." She leaned towards him with hesitation, and then, more confidently, pressed her lips to his.

"Not here." He shook his head. "Come on." He grabbed her hand and dragged her after him, to a door halfway down the corridor.

He opened it and pulled her in, closing it behind them. It was a closet of some sort, and completely dark.

He yanked her into his arms and covered her face with kisses before settling on her mouth.

His hands worked their way to her buttocks, and he pulled her impatiently against his erection, as if the barrier of their clothes was not there.

"Zuko." She breathed when he released her mouth, intending to tell him exactly how much she wanted him.

"Spirits, Lan, I can't think of anything but you. I know I _should _really be sorry that I saw you without clothes, and I _am _sorry that I embarrassed you, but – _spirits_! You're so beautiful!" He kissed her again, snatching all rational thought from her mind.

His lips feverishly fixed on her collarbone, kissing her all along it, and dipping below, where her tunic gapped.

One of his hands came between them, and he cupped her breast in his hand through her breast bindings. He gave a frustrated growl, and started to unbutton her top to reveal her to him, but, suddenly, he tore himself away, leaving her standing bereft, with the feel of his lips still scorching her skin.

"Lan." He put a shaking hand to his head. "I – I'm sorry."

Her eyes snapped open, even though she couldn't see him. "Wh – what? Why?"

"I – this..." He drew in a steadying breath. "This is _wrong_. I am not treating you as a man should treat his future wife. I – I would _never _dream of dishonoring you in this way. I – I'm sorry. Please forgive me."

She stamped her foot, suddenly angry. Who was _he _to decide what would dishonor her?! "Zuko! You –"

"I know. I know." He interrupted her, misinterpreting her anger. "I'm _sorry_. I – It was wrong to bring you in here. I'm sorry." He repeated, yanked the door open and was gone, leaving Lan staring after him, shaking with desire.

* * *

_**Damn **me!_ Zuko slapped the side of his head in frustration. _**Damn** it! Father was right – I **am** weak. I can't even control myself around Lan. If I hadn't come to my senses, I – well, I don't know **what **would have happened_! _Yes, I do!_

He sighed. He had not intended to allow himself to take such – liberties with her. He had just wanted to kiss her without the worry of one of the crewmen, or worse, Iroh, stumbling upon them, and the closet had seemed the ideal place.

But, once he had her in his arms, in the dark, visions of her naked body came back to him, and he found himself wanting _more _than just kisses. He wanted – all of her. Every inch.

He had wanted her for so long – month after month on his ship, alone in his cabin, in his bed, dreaming of her, needing her, missing her, and now, she was with him, and she _wanted _him, too.

And he didn't know how long he could fight his _base _impulses.

And he didn't know how long he _wanted _to fight them.

He came out onto the deck in strong sunshine, and lifted his face to feel its heat. It calmed and centered him immediately, and he felt its benevolent warmth coursing through his body, all the way to the tips of his fingers.

"Give me strength." He whispered.

Firebending could give him strength. Strength of purpose. And discipline. Discipline to resist his own urges.

He took a firebending stance and began going through all of the forms that he knew, one after another. All of the forms that he had learned as a very young child, watching his father. All of the forms that he had learned from Uncle Iroh. Everything.

As he progressed through the forms, he stripped to the waist, allowing the sun to soak into his skin until he felt as if he were glowing with it. Sweat ran from him in rivers, but he ignored it, concentrating only on the movements of his body, focusing on it, and the smooth, swift movements of the forms.

He looked up at the sun again. It had moved through the sky, and he realized that he had been practicing for several hours, without stopping, without drinking, and he felt thirsty suddenly, and tired.

It was time to stop.

He wearily picked up his shirt and uniform jacket, and walked to the tower in search of water.

As he opened the door, Jee, on the other side, stopped short, and belatedly bowed to Zuko. "Your Highness."

"What is it, Jee?" Zuko pushed past him.

"We should be in Pohuai the day after tomorrow." Jee followed him.

Zuko stopped for a moment to look at him. "So soon?"

Jee nodded. "Yes, Your Highness. The winds have been _very _favorable, and the engineer has been able to coax more speed out of the engines."

"Good. Tell the engineer –" he paused, unused to giving praise, "good job."

Jee nodded again, his eyebrows arched slightly. "Yes, Your Highness."

Zuko left him and went to the showers. He was pleased that they would arrive in Pohuai soon – he needed something to distract him from Lan Chi. Something that he could put his mind to – something that did _not _have red hair and creamy skin and liquid, brown eyes and perfect...

He shook his head. That was _not _helping.

He entered the shower room and stripped off the rest of his uniform.

No, those thoughts were definitely _not _helping to distract him.

He stepped under one of the shower heads and allowed the cold water to blast over him.

Better. This was better.

Uncomfortably cold, but better.

He sighed, and wondered how many cold showers he would have to take before he and Lan were married.

* * *

Lan Chi was already seated at the table in the dining room when Zuko entered that evening, and he hesitated inside the doorway.

She sat alone; Iroh had not yet arrived, and, although Zuko did not want to be alone with Lan, he did not know how he could avoid it other than to back out of the room, and that would appear awkward and _obvious._

No – he had to go in. After all, he was no coward.

Lan Chi caught his figure in the corner of her eye, but she refused to look at him as he sat down across from her.

She had poured herself a cup of tea, and pointedly sipped from it without acknowledging him.

He looked at the teapot, far from him, next to her elbow.

He cleared his throat. "May I please have some tea?" His voice sounded rusty.

She gave him a brief, hostile glance, and shoved the teapot at him.

He caught her wrist, and she lifted her eyes to him again.

"I don't want to fight." He said softly, his thumb pressing gently on her pulse.

She tugged her arm away. "You don't want to fight? What _do_ you want?"

It was a fair question. What _did_ he want?

"I want you." He admitted it easily.

She snorted. "You didn't earlier."

He shook his head. "No. No – I _did_. I _do_. But I – _can't_. I _won't –_ do _that _in a _closet_. With you. You deserve – better."

She glared at him. "You might try asking me what _I _want."

He sighed. "Lan..." He began, plaintively.

"Do I not get a say in what happens?"

"Of course you do."

"It is _my _life, after all."

"I know. You're right."

"And you –" she gestured in the air. "You do as you like, and I am supposed to – what? Go along with it? Accept it? Does my _choice _make no difference at all?"

"Of course it does. I – I didn't mean to take your choice away."

"I might be considered _chattel _by your father, but I do _not _want to be that to you, as well."

He shook his head emphatically. "You're not. Never."

"Never? So you _kiss _me, and – and make _advances _towards me –"

"I know. I'm sorry."

"_Stop _apologizing!"

"Well, I _did _make advances – and it was wrong!"

"Did I _seem _upset about it? Did I _push _you away?"

He blinked at her. "No. But you _should _have." He said quietly.

Her brows raised. "I _should _have? Are you _chastising _me for _not _correcting your _bad _behavior?"

He was confused now. "What?"

"It's a simple question. _Are you chastising me for not correcting your bad behavior_? Instead of _you _chastising yourself and – _controlling _yourself?"

"Oh, believe me, I did chastise myself. And I pledge that I will never behave like that again – with you."

"So you made that decision? On your own?"

"Uh. Yes?" He was _not _certain of the right answer.

"Without asking _my _opinion? My desire? My wish?"

"No?" Again, he was wary of his own response.

"So you have taken _my _choice away from me – _you _have made the decision about what goes on between us – without consulting me."

"You're confusing me."

"It's relatively simple, Your Highness."

"Oh, now you're calling me _Your Highness_!" He protested.

"Yes. I am. Do you want me to call you Zuko?"

"Yes. Of course."

"Fine. I shall. See how I _consulted _you on something that concerns you?"

He gave an aggrieved sigh. "You've made your point, Lan."

"I should prefer to be called _my lady_, if you wouldn't mind, please."

He groaned. "Lan..."

"_My lady_." She corrected.

His face reddened. "You are the most _obstreperous..._" He began, sputtering, before his words died.

"And you are _patronizing_!"

"_Patronizing_? Because I _don't _want to take your maidenhead in a _closet_?" He threw his hands up, frustrated.

"Well, it's _my _maidenhead. If I should like you to take it in a closet, I should be free to _choose _to do so."

He stood. "Oh, for _pity's _sake, Lan – I'm sorry, I mean, _my lady_. Is it _so _wrong to want to treat you as you _ought _to be treated? As I would like to be treated, were the roles reversed?"

It was her turn to blink at him.

"Is it?" He demanded.

"N – no." She admitted.

"And _I _want our _first _time to be as husband and wife – in a _proper _bed, not surrounded by _cleaning _supplies!"

She jumped up. "And what if we should never get _that_? What if we never get a wedding night?" She demanded.

The ire faded from his face, to be replaced by sadness. "You don't think that I'll be able to find a solution, do you?"

She pointed at him. "Do _not _make this argument about _that_!"

"But it's true, isn't it?"

"What's true is that _you _want to decide what is _best _for me!"

He allowed himself to be distracted. "So, tell me, then, _my lady_, what is _best _for you?!"

"My own decisions! That _I _make! Not _you_!"

He gave a terse nod. "Fine. You may make your _own _decisions. But _I _have made mine." He bowed and turned for the door.

"You're leaving?" She asked.

"Yes. That is _my _decision. I know that you are _keen _on respecting the wishes of others, so I am certain that you shall honor mine." He walked to the door. "And I have _not _forgotten what you said about never having a wedding night." His face was stoic. "You do not believe in me. Fine – I am used to that. I have had much experience with my father, after all."

He opened the door to find Iroh standing there, his hand reaching out to open the door from the other side.

"Ah, Zuko!" Iroh smiled, and Zuko realized that their uncle had not heard the conversation. "Have I missed dinner?"

"No." Zuko threw a look at Lan. "But I find I have no appetite tonight."

* * *

After the door closed behind Zuko, Iroh turned to Lan, who sat across the table, her face red and her arms crossed obstinately.

"Have you and Zuko fought? Again?"

Her only answer was a glare at her uncle, who sighed and took Zuko's place. He poured himself some tea and looked at her wisely. "What was it this time?"

"He is – _heavy-handed_."

Iroh chuckled.

"It's not funny!"

"To you, perhaps. But _I _am _well_ aware of Zuko's _heavy-handedness_. What is it now?"

She gave him a sharp look. "Nothing of import. It is just that – he _tries _to make decisions for me – as if he _knows _what is best for me!"

"Perhaps it is his father in him."

She gave a harrumph. "I would hope that there is _little _of Ozai in him."

"More than I would like." Iroh sighed. "Zuko has a sense of – entitlement."

"What do you mean?"

Iroh shrugged. "As Crown Prince, Zuko feels that his – _decisions_, for lack of a better word, are to be honored."

"The word you're looking for is _orders_. He feels that his _orders should_ be obeyed."

"Well, orders or decisions, it amounts to the same thing."

"Yes, _well, _I have had enough of the men of Zuko's family _deciding_ my fate."

Iroh looked at her pointedly, and she blushed.

"Oh, not _you, _Uncle!"

"No. You're right. I _decided_, long ago, that you should marry Zuko, and it may well have been the cause of all of the tragedy that has befallen you – and Zuko, since then."

"Uncle, you _mustn't _blame yourself. _You _did not send me away to the Royal Fire Academy for Girls, _nor _did you burn Zuko."

"Had I _not _interfered by scheming to betroth you two –"

"Uncle, it is _not _your fault. _You _are not responsible for what Ozai did."

Iroh acknowledged that. "Sometimes, though, I admit that I feel like my brother's keeper."

She lifted her brows. "You are not. He made his own decisions."

"Decisions to your detriment."

"And to yours."

"Hmm." Iroh mused on that for a long moment. "Perhaps. Perhaps not. I feel that my burden is not as heavy as Ozai's."

"But you are better suited to bear it."

"Am I? I'm not certain." he waved a hand airily. "What does it matter? Ozai is Fire Lord, not I. My obligation _now_ is to Zuko – and to you, of course."

Lan looked down at her hands. If only she could believe that. Iroh's first commitment was to Zuko's best interests – she knew that; she had _always _known that.

And marriage to her was _definitely not _in Zuko's best interests.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. We are chugging towards an ending - I promise you!

I am sorry that I missed last week's posting - it is the end of the school year here, and my sister is graduating, so things have been BUSY! Going to the airport to pick up relatives, CLEANING, shopping, decorating, etc. And, then, to FURTHER complicate things, I have a TERRIBLE summer cold, and I am MISERABLE!

*sigh* It's always something! If ONLY I could devote myself to writing 24/7...

Anyway, PLEASE review so that this fic can become one of the most reviewed Avatar fics. I'm on the FIFTH page of number of reviews, and I would REALLY like to be on the first page! So, please, please, please review! : )


	40. Chapter 40

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN _NICKELODEON'S AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER_ OR ITS CHARACTERS. I just think Zuko and Katara would have had beautiful children. *sigh***

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Hello, faithful readers! As you probably know, I missed posting last week. A combination of a VERY bad cold, as well as a LOT of other things I had to do (life can be like that, sometimes!) meant that I did not finish the chapter in time for posting! However, you will be happy to know that this has been a VERY productive week, and I am almost done with chapter 41 and am about to start chapter 42! So, HOPEFULLY, posting will be more regular. Thanks for being understanding! And to those of you who HAVEN'T been understanding...you know who you are! : /

Thanks to bowow0708 and sunflower13 for their wonderful betareading! : )

* * *

"Uncle?"

Iroh lifted his eyes reluctantly from the book he was reading. Zuko stood at the open door of Iroh's cabin, looking uncertain. His earlier argument with Lan was still foremost in his mind, and he _needed _advice.

Iroh closed his book. "What is it, Prince Zuko?"

"May I – come in?"

Iroh nodded. "Please do."

The prince came in and closed the door behind him.

His uncle's brows raised. "Oh, my. Is this to be a closed-door discussion?"

"Yes."

Iroh gestured to a cushion. "Sit, Zuko, and tell me what's on your mind."

Zuko did as he was bade and looked at his uncle for a long moment before beginning. "It's Lan."

"Oh?" Iroh was hesitant. "What about her?"

Zuko's eyes fell to the floor. "I – I think that I am – still in love with her."

Iroh's stomach fell. "I see."

Zuko rushed on. "I know what you're going to say."

"Do you?"

"Yes. I do. You're going to tell me that she is promised to another."

"She is."

"And that my father has absolutely forbidden her to me."

"He has."

"And that I have nothing to offer her."

"I would not say _that_. You have much to offer her."

"Exile and life on a broken-down ship?"

"It's only that if you look at it that way."

"_Really_? What other way _should _I look at it?"

"As a lifetime full of adventure."

Zuko gave him a dry look. "I knew that I shouldn't have said anything." He moved to stand, but Iroh stayed him.

"Why did you come to me?" The old man asked.

"Because I want your _help_!"

"And I will give it to you, of course. But if your ultimate goal is to reclaim your throne, with Lan Chi as your queen, I am afraid that you will be doomed to disappointment."

"Because of Father?"

"You know that he has said, in no uncertain terms, that he will not allow your marriage to Lan Chi."

"But if we are married in secret, he will have to accept her."

He shook his head sadly. "You do not know your father very well. He is more likely to disinherit you entirely and banish you _permanently. _Both of you._"_

Zuko sighed, his shoulders slumped. "So what can I do?"

"What _can _you do, or what _should _you do?"

Zuko looked at him. "What should I do?"

Iroh gave him a hard look. "You _should_ denounce your claim to throne, marry Lan Chi, and live somewhere that the Fire Lord cannot reach you."

Zuko looked at him in astonishment. "Have you gone _mad_?"

"That, I am afraid, is the _only_ way that you will be able to marry Lan Chi while your father is Fire Lord."

Zuko's face was miserable. "The only way?"

Iroh nodded. "Yes. I fear that it is."

Zuko looked pensive, then shook his head slowly. "I – can't. I can't give up the throne. There is no one else to take it."

Iroh was hesitant. "A child of Azula's – one day."

Zuko gave him a sharp look. "A child of _Azula_? Uncle, do you have any idea what you are saying?"

Iroh looked at him silently.

"There is something that you are not telling me." Zuko said.

Iroh sighed deeply, wondering how much he should say. He knew that Ozai's intention was to make a son of Azula his heir, and bypass Zuko entirely. He decided to tell Zuko only _part _of the truth. "Should you –" he hesitated, "– fail to find the Avatar, your father is prepared to leave the crown to any son that Azula should have – one day."

Zuko's eyes narrowed. "You're lying."

Iroh now looked miserable, and Zuko realized that his uncle was _not _lying. He stood suddenly. "You may think that running off is the only way, but you're _wrong_. _When _I find the Avatar, Father will welcome me back, and he _will_ allow me to marry Lan. _And _I will be Fire Lord – with Lan Chi as my queen. No child of Azula will steal the crown from me." He took a deep breath. "Lan Chi will be the mother to Fire Lords, not _Azula_."

"Won't Lan's husband object to that?"

Zuko glared at him, then fled the room without another word.

Iroh sighed, and opened his book.

Things were _bound _to get more complicated now.

* * *

Lan Chi leaned on the railing and watched as the ship made its way towards a peninsula jutting out into the water. "So this is Pohuai." It was a statement more than a question.

Iroh smiled at her. "Indeed. The Pohuai Stronghold. Have you ever been here?"

She shook her head. "No. This is outside Uncle Fai's jurisdiction."

Iroh shrugged. "Hmm. Well, it's quite an impressive garrison. The tower should be visible soon. It's enormous."

"Should the Fire Nation _really _build _enormous _towers in contested regions?" She turned to him.

Iroh smiled. "Oh. Pohuai is _not c_ontested. The land on the other shores might be, but Pohuai is _firmly _in our possession. And the tower lets everyone know that. And that, my dear," He touched her nose affectionately, "is how the Fire Nation stakes a claim. We come in and build something that says to the populace, '_this is the might of the Fire Nation. Do not seek to best us.''_"

"How is that strategy working out for us?" She asked dryly.

He gave a rueful smile. "Depends on who you ask, I suppose."

"Hmm. Is Zuko going to search for the Avatar while he is here?"

"I think it unlikely that the Avatar is _anywhere _in this region."

"Why?"

"Much fighting went on here. Every stone was overturned. There's very little chance that _anyone _could have stayed hidden here for a hundred years."

"So why are we stopping, then?"

Iroh smiled. "Didn't you know? Colonel Shinu is head of the garrison here."

"Colonel Shinu?" Lan straightened.

Iroh nodded. "Indeed."

Lan smiled in delight. She had trained with the Yu Yan Archers under Colonel Shinu during her childhood, and she remembered him _very _fondly. A man of short stature, he made up for that _short_coming by having a tenacious spirit and seemingly endless energy. "I haven't seen him since I was in Royal Caldera – before I went to the Academy. I'd – like to see him again."

"See who?" Zuko, unobserved, had come up behind them, and had heard Lan's last words. Despite his best intentions, found himself inexplicably _jealous_.

She looked at the new arrival, and, although she was still angry with him, she thought it best to feign indifference to his presence. "Colonel Shinu."

Zuko's jealousy abated. "Oh. Didn't you study under him?"

"Yes. With the Yu Yan." She turned back to Iroh. "I wonder if he'll remember me."

Iroh chuckled. "I'm quite certain that he will."

She shrugged. "I guess a _red-haired_ girl is uneasily forgotten."

"Perhaps." He smiled. "But I doubt that _that _is the reason he will remember you. He will most likely remember you for your skill at archery."

Lan Chi pinkened in joy. "Do you really think so?"

Iroh patted her hand. "Of course, my dear. I recall that you used to _more _than hold your own against archers _many _years your senior." He turned to Zuko, whose eyes were fixed on Lan, enjoying the shining happiness apparent on her face. "Don't you think so, Zuko?"

Zuko snapped back to attention. "What? Yes, of course, Uncle. I – always watched you practice, Lan – er, _my lady_, and I thought that you were – glorious. Your archery skills, I mean." He blushed, and Lan Chi dimpled at him in pleasure.

"General Iroh!" Jee called to Iroh from the bridge. "Is your pai sho set incomplete?"

Iroh frowned at the man, and yelled back. "I don't believe so. Why?"

"The helmsman just found a white lotus tile wedged between the wheel and the floor!"

Iroh looked comically dismayed. "I'll be _right _there!" He turned to Lan. "I need to go."

Having said that, he took off at nearly a run, and Lan put a hand up to stifle a laugh.

She turned back to Zuko, and saw him staring at her intently.

Her smile drained away. "Did you _really _mean what you said?"

"About your archery?" He took a step closer to her, and hoped that no one was nearby. "Or about you being – glorious?"

She swallowed hard, and nodded.

Zuko gave a lopsided smile. "Which? Because I _did _think you were glorious. Everything you did. And – I _still _do."

She looked at him seriously, her heart full of love. "Zuko, I'm – I'm sorry. That we fought."

"So am I." He did not remove his eyes from her.

"I – I was – angry, and I – _want _you so much, and I _know _that we – _can't_ do _that_. And I know that – you're right. That we shouldn't –" she blushed, "do that – before we're married."

He took her hand impulsively. "Do you trust me that we _will _get married? That I'll figure _something _out?"

"Yes." She nodded.

"I _really _want to kiss you right now." He whispered.

"Go ahead." She said quietly, not caring if the entire world was watching.

Another crooked smile came over his face. "Someone might see. And I don't want there to be any gossip." "Besides," he indicated the tower of the Pohuai stronghold, which was now visible in the distance, "we'll be there soon." He squeezed her hands. "I should go ready the ship for arrival."

She nodded, and watched as he walked away, a small smile on her face. She was glad that they had made amends; she really did not like to fight with him. But he _infuriated _her so! Still, she knew that their time together was limited, and she did _not _want to waste it arguing.

She turned to watch as Pohuai approached. Colonel Shinu was here – so, presumably, was a number of Yu Yan Archers. She looked forward to seeing the colonel, and the Yu Yan, and wondered if there were any among them that she knew. Of course, her training with them had been more than six years before, and it was unlikely that those with whom she had trained were stationed here.

But the presence of Shinu meant _one _more thing to Lan Chi – she would not mine Pohuai for its secrets. Shinu was too wily, and too familiar with her character, to be fooled into falling for her charms or her alibis.

No, Pohuai was safe from her.

She felt a weight slide from her shoulders; she could simply _enjoy _her reunion with Shinu, and not worry about escape routes or secrets locked in safes or being discovered.

And _that _felt wonderful.

* * *

The Pohuai stronghold was impressive; it was, in fact, the largest garrison outside of the palace that Lan had ever seen. It sat on the top of a low bluff overlooking a natural harbor on the mighty Pohuai River, which was one of the largest rivers in the Earth Kingdom. The garrison boasted an enormous tower and bailey, surrounded by three secure walls, each topped with low watch towers. The security of the fort was further strengthened by the fact that only one road ran up to the gates, and that there were no sheltering trees near the structure.

Lan, Zuko and Iroh gathered at the railing as they pulled into the harbor, and a cutter came out to them.

"Identify yourselves!" A man in the bow of the cutter shouted up to them.

Zuko, with a swift look at his uncle, answered.

"It is Prince Zuko and General Iroh. We request permission to see Colonel Shinu!"

The man conferred with a companion in the cutter, then nodded. "We welcome the Fire Lord's son and brother. Dock and come ashore, Your Highness!"

They were docked within a half hour, and they descended the gangplank to a waiting party, consisting of Colonel Shinu and several other officers.

"Welcome, Prince Zuko. General Iroh." Shinu bowed with reverence to them. He caught sight of Lan Chi, and surprise registered on his face. "Is this – can this be – Lady Lan Chi?"

She smiled and bowed. "It is indeed I, Colonel Shinu."

He returned the bow. "My lady. You have grown." It was true; she was nearly his height. "I am pleased to see that you have reunited with General Iroh."

Lan looked at her uncle fondly. "As am I."

"What brings you to Pohuai?" Shinu's question encompassed all of them.

Iroh answered. "We were trying to make for the eastern waters on the other side of Whale Tail Island."

"But you ran into the blockade." Shinu guessed.

"Yes." Zuko answered. "Has it been in place – for long?" He was almost afraid to hear the response.

"For nearly six months, I believe." He looked at Zuko inquiringly. "Were you not made aware of that, Prince Zuko?"

"No." Zuko answered quietly. "I was not."

Shinu's lipped thinned, and he understood immediately; the Fire Lord was trying to make his son's quest as difficult as possible. He turned the conversation by looking at Lan Chi. "Have you kept up your archery, my lady?"

She understood his intention. "Not as much as I should have, perhaps."

He inclined his head. "I think that I can offer you an opportunity to work on your skills, my lady – if you will be staying with us long."

Zuko spoke up again. "A day or so only, Colonel."

Shinu's face appeared regretful. "Shame. Still, I would be honored to give you a tour of the garrison, and invite you to dine with me tonight." He gave another small bow.

Iroh nodded eagerly. "That is _most _appreciated, Colonel."

"Actually, Lady Lan Chi, I think that you can train with a squad of Yu Yan – if you are available tomorrow morning."

She looked at him with joy. "Colonel, that would be wonderful! I would love that, above all else!" She turned to Iroh and Zuko. "Isn't it wonderful?"

Iroh smiled and nodded. "Indeed it is, Lan."

"Are we staying through tomorrow, Zuko?" In her excitement, she dropped his title.

Zuko nodded, and offered her a small smile. She looked so eager that he could not help but be happy for her; he knew how much she would enjoy shooting with the Yu Yan Archers again. "I believe we are."

She grabbed his hand and squeezed it, and turned back to Shinu. "Thank you, Colonel. I would be _very _pleased to train with the Yu Yan tomorrow."

Shinu's eyes darted to Lan's and Zuko's joined hands, and bowed. "I will see to it that they are informed of your participation." He looked to Iroh. "I am available immediately, Your Highness, if you would like a tour of our facility."

Zuko inclined his head. "That is very kind of you."

Colonel Shinu turned to Lan. "Are you able to tour in those slippers, my lady?"

Lan had dressed in a burgundy-colored robe and matching slippers, and, although she was not as comfortable as she would have been in her sparring clothing, she nodded. "Oh, these slippers might _look _slight, Colonel, but they are _really_ quite comfortable."

"Well, then. Here is their first trial – to make it up the hill to the fortress."

Lan gauged the distance as about a half mile. "They are up to the test."

He led them up to the gates of the garrison, which rolled open as they approached. "I think that you will be pleased with the garrison, Your Highness. Pohuai commands this river valley. None would seek to challenge us here."

"I am glad to hear that."

"This is, in fact, the largest permanent garrison outside the Fire Nation proper," Shinu boasted as they walked through the enormous gates. "And the most heavily fortified. We passed through the first wall, but there are _two _more before we reach the tower."

"Why are there so many walls, Colonel?" Lan asked.

"The tower is equipped to hold high-value prisoners, and Fire Lord Sozin thought it important that this facility be among the most secure in the world."

"High-value prisoners?" Lan repeated Shinu's words.

"Powerful benders."

"Such as the Avatar." Iroh supplied quietly, and Zuko and Lan swung around to look at him.

"The Avatar?" Zuko asked. "I thought that Great-Grandfather wanted to – rid the world of the Avatar."

"He did." Iroh looked at his nephew unblinkingly. "But, after the first wave of – retaliations against the Air Temples, he realized that the Avatar had not been found."

"So why did he build a prison for the Avatar?" Lan was confused.

"In the chance that the Avatar was captured, he was to be kept here until his identity could be confirmed."

"Oh."

Zuko was pensive. "This was built to hold the Avatar?"

Shinu interrupted his thoughts. "When you capture him, Your Highness, there will be a secure place for you to keep him, should you require it."

Zuko looked at him distractedly. "Yes. Yes, of course."

"The Avatar is not the only person who can be held." Shinu said seriously. "I'll take you to see the stocks where _all_ the powerful hostile benders are kept. They are bound both hands and feet to prevent _all _bending."

Lan's face was dismayed. "Sounds – uncomfortable."

"It is." Shinu seemed unconcerned.

They continued through the first courtyard, which was busy with soldiers training and going about their daily activities.

"How many soldiers are garrisoned here, Colonel?"

"Approximately nineteen hundred are here right now, although the garrison is capable of accommodating five thousand."

"That _is_ impressive." Iroh commented.

Shinu bowed in acknowledgment. "It has been ten years since we have had such a surge in numbers."

"I would think, Colonel, that it would be a challenge to keep such a large number of troops fed." Lan remarked.

"Indeed, it can be, my lady. Of course, I was not here at the time of the last surge, but I understand that the biggest challenge to accommodating such a large number was fresh water."

"Fresh water is indeed important." Iroh pointed out as Shinu led them through the outer bailey.

"Unfortunately, during the summer months, this is a rather arid region. To combat that, the garrison now has culverts that run from under the tower keep – to store fresh water. In the rainy season, all the precipitation that falls on the roof collects in those." Shinu led the way through the second gate into another courtyard. A company of Yu Yan Archers was practicing, lined up in front of a series of targets, and Lan Chi stopped to stare at them.

All of the memories of time she had spent with them, and with Lu Ten, came flooding back to her, and she was struck by a wave of sad nostalgia. Longing for those carefree days, when Lu Ten was alive, when Uncle was still heir to the throne, and when she and Zuko had a future ahead of them, caused her breath to catch.

Shinu saw her reaction. "Are you certain that you would not like to take up a bow with them right now, my lady?"

She turned to him with a wistful smile. "No, thank you, Colonel. I did not bring my bow, anyway."

"We can send someone back to the ship, my dear, to retrieve it, if you'd like." Iroh said softly. He, too, remembered that time in his life when all was well – when his family had been whole.

Lan shook her head. "No, that's all right, Uncle. Tomorrow morning will be soon enough." She continued to stare at the archers, however.

Iroh and Shinu turned away as the colonel led them through the bailey, and Zuko looked at her with thoughtful consideration. He had forgotten how much archery meant to her – or, perhaps it was the Yu Yan that meant much to her – or the memories that they brought back to her.

He touched her elbow gently. "Lan?"

She pulled herself from her reverie. "I'm sorry, Zuko. My mind was – wandering."

He gave her a reassuring smile, and she continued. "Life seemed to be much more – uncomplicated, then. Aunt Su Hsing and Lu Ten were still alive."

"And so was Grandfather."

"Yes." She smiled, too. "Had he lived, had Uncle – remained heir, we would be married by now."

Zuko nodded. "I know. But we _will _be, Lan. I promise you."

She touched his cheek briefly. "I know, Zuko." She said quietly, and noticed that Shinu and Iroh were already several yards ahead. "We'd better catch up."

The colonel led them into a winding stairwell in the wall ahead of them, and they climbed to the battlements of the third wall.

The view of the tower keep was impressive, and Lan Chi counted at least ten floors in the tower itself, not including any floors that might be within the confines of the steep, red tiled roof. "Colonel Shinu, the tower is – _massive_."

"It is among the tallest in the world." He said proudly, leading them along the parapet. Soldiers on watch bowed in obeisance as the party walked along, apparently recognizing the members of the royal family amongst them. Both Zuko and Iroh inclined their heads as they passed. The soldiers also showed an interest in Lan Chi's red hair, their eyes following her even as she passed.

She gave them no acknowledgment, though; she was used to being the object of scrutiny, after all, although the soldiers' interest was not lost on Zuko.

Shinu gave the visitors more statistics and facts about the garrison as they walked along, and finally led them down another staircase into the innermost bailey.

The colonel pointed to a large metal grate in the ground. "There is one of the water retention culverts that I spoke of earlier."

This bailey, Shinu explained, was the largest of the three, and was where the soldiers mustered. He led the way into the tower and around the bottom floor, showing them armament rooms and officers' quarters.

They walked upon a large, brass manhole cover in one of the halls, and Shinu stomped on it with his booted foot. "This is how the well is accessed inside the tower." He bent and pulled at an inset handle to open the cover, showing gleaming water below. "It is full now, but, by autumn, it should be only a foot or so deep."

With a nod, he lowered the cover, and led them up a staircase to the top floor of the tower. He took them down a series of long hallways to a darkened room. With a flick of his wrist, he threw a fireball to one of two pillared torches in the room, and the room sputtered into light. "This is the most secure room in the _entire _facility."

Lan walked into it slowly. Two pillars, approximately ten feet apart, stood in the middle of the room. From each of them hung a chain with a manacle at the end, and, in the floor, there was a matching set. "This is where you would keep the Avatar." She said quietly.

Shinu nodded. "Yes. Both his hands and feet would be secured, preventing all bending."

Lan Chi shuddered and glanced at Zuko, who appeared unmoved by the thought of someone being so confined.

Iroh, however, saw how the room affected Lan, and cleared his throat. "I am sure that there is much more to see, Colonel. I am _certain _that there is a lovely view of the river from one of the upper floors. Shall we go?"

* * *

They finished their tour, and, after returning to the ship to dress for dinner, Lan, Zuko, and Iroh found themselves back at the fortress.

"My lady, you are lovely." Shinu bowed to her as she preceded her uncle and cousin into the dining room. The room, which was set high up in the tower, had windows that overlooked both the surrounding countryside and the wide river.

Lan, who had chosen a dark blue robe and matching bian fang, smiled and bowed. "Thank you, Colonel."

Shinu turned to Iroh. "General, would you care for some rice wine? I have some in my office."

Iroh smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Colonel." He looked to Zuko and Lan Chi. "We'll just be a few minutes. Can you entertain yourselves?"

Lan's and Zuko's eyes met, and Lan gave Iroh an indulgent smile. "Of course, Uncle. We'll be fine."

After the door closed behind the two men, she and Zuko were left alone. She rushed into Zuko's waiting arms. His lips were warm and firm, and she sighed deep in her throat. Finally, she reluctantly set herself away. "We can't look as if you've been kissing me."

He dropped his arms reluctantly. "You're right."

He took her hand and they walked out to a balcony overlooking the bailey. The sun was setting, bathing everything in a rosy glow. Zuko leaned back on the balustrade, and looked at her as she stared out over the fortress. She glanced at him, and grinned. "Why are you looking at me?"

"Shinu was right. You _are _lovely."

"Thank you. So are you." She said cheekily.

He frowned. "No, I'm not. I –"

She interrupted him and stepped close to him. "Not another word. We don't have much time before they come back. Kiss me again."

He accommodated her. "Do you think that anyone below can see us?" He asked, when she pulled away to breathe.

She peered over the railing. "I doubt it."

"Good." He kissed her again, and settled her into his arms as they both looked out over the garrison. "Look." He pointed to a group on the ground. "The Yu Yan are still training."

He felt her nod against his chest. "They train ten to twelve hours a day."

"Did you ever train that long?"

"No. I was too young. They wouldn't let me."

"And what about Lu Ten?"

"Three hours a day, probably. He was studying a lot of other things."

"Father never wanted me to train with the Yu Yan."

"Probably because I did."

Zuko was silent for a long time as he thought on that. It was possible, though he did not want to think of his father being so closed-minded.

Lan continued. "Is it truly all right that we stay overnight so that I can train with them tomorrow morning?"

He nodded, and laid his cheek on top of her head. "If it _truly_ makes you happy."

"It does."

"You really enjoyed training with them when you were younger, didn't you?"

Her cheek was against his chest, and he felt her nod. "Mm-hmm. I did. I felt as if I was _one _of them. I _understood _them, I guess. Their mission. Their creed. Their way of life."

"What do you mean?"

"They're sworn to protect the Fire Lord until death, and I could – see myself doing that. Defending Uncle – and then Lu Ten – for the rest of my life." She looked up at him, and her expression was wistful. "There was nothing that I wanted more than to serve them. And to defend and protect them." She laid her head back on his chest, and he tightened his arms around her. She shrugged, then. "But Uncle told me that I _couldn't _be a Yu Yan."

"Why?"

She sighed. "Women of our class aren't Yu Yan Archers." She looked up at him again. "They're _wives_, and _mothers_. Not soldiers."

He gave a slight smile. "I have to admit that I am glad that he didn't allow you."

She shrugged again. "It didn't matter if he had. Lu Ten – died, and so did your grandfather."

She left unsaid, _'and your father became Fire Lord,' _but Zuko heard the words anyway.

"Are you – angry that my father became Fire Lord?" He asked with trepidation.

She pulled away to look at him from arm's length. "I'm not _angry_. Anyway, does it matter? Your grandfather _chose _him."

Zuko asked a question that had often come into his mind, though he had never voiced it. "Why do you think Grandfather picked Father over Uncle?"

She touched his cheek. "I don't know, Zuko. I just – don't." She gave a small smile. "But I _do _know that I will _happily _devote my life to the _next _Fire Lord."

He pulled her hand from his cheek and kissed her palm. "You don't need to _devote_ your life to me. Just share it with me."

The door opened, and they sprang apart guiltily. By the time Iroh and Shinu came out to the balcony, they were a respectable distance apart, chatting about inconsequential things, and looking out over the bailey.

* * *

"Men!" Colonel Shinu came up to his archers, already training in the morning sun, Lan Chi walking behind him, hesitant with trepidation.

The archers came to attention, and Lan gulped. They all looked unfriendly.

However, she knew better. She knew that they were trained to display stoicism and gravity; they considered their duty to serve the Fire Lord among the most sacred in the Fire Nation. As a result, the Yu Yan were a tightly-knit group – loyal to their brethren and to the Fire Lord until the very end.

"This is Lady Lan Chi Sun, daughter of Yan Sun, one of the greatest warriors that the Fire Nation has ever known. Some of you may remember Lady Lan Chi from when she trained with me in the Capital."

It was true; she did recognize some of their faces, and was surprised – although she did not know why she should be. Membership in the Yu Yan Archers was for life, after all. After a Yu Yan Archer was too old for the field, they frequently became instructors – and, even if they retired from the military, they were expected to answer any call to arms from their Fire Lord, no matter their age.

"She trained alongside our beloved Prince Lu Ten, spirits rest his soul, and, like the Prince, she is one of the most talented young archers that I have ever seen. She has agreed to train with us this morning. So," he lifted his chin, "you are to accord her every respect, as if her brother were still here amongst us. Do I make myself understood?"

"Yes, Sir!" They all shouted in tandem, and, as one, they bowed to her.

Her face as red as her hair, she bowed in return, and, when Shinu indicated, she took her place with the other archers.

They walked to a line drawn in the dirt, which indicated a fair distance from the targets, and the first in line assumed a shooting stance.

Lan watched nervously as the archers began to shoot, each shot seemingly perfect, hitting the targets in the center.

"My lady?" A male archer in line behind her whispered to her, and she turned to him in surprise. "Do you remember me, Lady Lan Chi?"

She peered at him closely. "No, I – I am afraid that I don't. I'm sorry."

He shook his head. "No apology necessary. I was at the capital when you trained with the Yu Yan. My name is Chan."

Lan nodded, although she still did not recognize him.

He continued. "I – I can tell that you are nervous. You needn't be. Colonel Shinu is right. You _are _a very talented archer. Just forget that we are all here. Remember what you were taught. Visualize yourself sliding the arrow onto the bow, and pulling the bowstring back, and releasing it, and then the arrow hitting the target. Remember the times in the past that you have hit the center. Remember what you did, and how you felt."

Lan Chi nodded again, and did as Chan suggested. In her mind, she went through all of the steps necessary to shoot, and, as she awaited her turn, she closed her eyes and imagined all that Chan had said – lifting the bow, fitting the nock of the arrow onto the string, sighting the target, pulling back the string, letting it go, and then watching as the arrow quivered through the air and struck true.

She went over that several times, and, when it was her turn to shoot, she took a deep breath and did exactly as she had visualized.

Her fingers released the bowstring, and the arrow shot towards its target, landing just outside the bullseye.

She released a breath that she had not known she had been holding.

Shinu nodded approvingly. "Not bad. Especially for someone who has not kept up her skills _as much as she should have_." He echoed her words of the day before, and a rare smile crossed his face.

She grinned in relief. "Thank you, Sir."

He pointed to the back of the line of archers. "Keep up the good work."

She nodded, and rushed to the back of the line, glad that she had worn her sparring clothes, and not a robe.

The morning progressed, and she continued to practice with the archers.

Zuko came to watch her, although she did not see him. He said nothing, merely observing her from a distance, and, then, with a small smile, finally left to return to the ship.

Shinu, however, did not miss the prince's interest in Lan Chi, a detail that he filed away in his head.

When a halt was finally called to their morning practice, Lan announced that she must leave, and the archers all gathered around her, offering farewells and best wishes. She felt, for a moment, wistful, wishing that she could stay. Their life was circumscribed and regimented, and she yearned for the simplicity of that.

But she knew that her path lay elsewhere, and, as the archers headed for the mess to eat lunch before afternoon training commenced, Lan gathered up her bow and arrows, in order to leave.

Shinu, however, had not followed his archers. He watched her, and when she came over to bid him farewell, he spoke. "Lady Lan Chi, I know that it is not – usual for a well-born woman to join the military, and particularly the Yu Yan Archers, but I see a talent in you. It was always there, of course, as I said before, but I feel that, with proper training, you could be among the best. It took you only a few hours to improve your form."

Lan's face pinkened with pleasure. "Thank you, Colonel. For the compliment and the offer." She bowed. "But I cannot. Not because of my family, or my title." She looked down at the bow, clutched in her hands. "I – am to be married, and I cannot stay."

"Ah. To Prince Zuko. I surmised as much when I saw his interest in you."

She paled considerably. "What? No, no, you must be mistaken. Any interest he has in me is simply that – of a cousin – a family member."

His brows rose. "He is not your intended? I confess that I am surprised. He came to watch you, you know, earlier."

She looked at him sharply. "Did he? I didn't see him."

He gave an embarrassed smile. "My lady, I must apologize for jumping to conclusions." He bowed. "Please forgive the misunderstandings of a doddering old man."

She shook her head and returned the smile. "Sir, you go too far. You are no doddering old man. And you need not beg my forgiveness. There is nothing to forgive!"

He nodded again, and bowed to her. "Thank you. And, my lady, should you ever change your mind, the Yu Yan Archers would be honored to have you."

* * *

**Author's Notes:** I hope you enjoyed the chapter - I had to slide in a chapter about Pohuai, which, in case you did not know, is the name of the fortress where Aang finds himself held prisoner in "The Blue Spirit." I had always wondered how Zuko knew so much about the layout of everything there - from which room Aang was held in to the location of the sewers, etc., and so I decided to give him an excuse to know it!

BIG THINGS are coming in the next couple of chapters, so be sure to "follow" the fic and watch for an email alert - because I may post the next chapter BEFORE next Sunday!

PLEASE review, so I can achieve my biggest ambition - to be amongst the most highly reviewed Avatar fan fics! Thank you, thank you, thank you! : )


	41. Chapter 41

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN _NICKELODEON'S AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER_ OR ITS CHARACTERS. I just wish that I HADN'T read the leaked "The Search, part 2!"**

* * *

**Author's Note: **Happy Independence Day, America! For the rest of the world, happy Thursday! I thought, since it is a holiday where I am, I would celebrate by posting a BONUS chapter! I hope that you enjoy it! And, don't worry, you'll still get a chapter on Sunday!

Thanks to bowow0708 and sunflower13 for their betareading!

* * *

Lan lowered the scope from her eye. "So that's it, then?"

The small island that had been the subject of her scrutiny appeared even smaller when she looked at it with just her naked eye, and she frowned.

Zuko linked his hands behind his back. "According to the map."

Lan looked at him. "Well, at least it won't take long to explore."

"No." Zuko's voice was clipped. "It won't."

Lan's heart fell. She knew, upon seeing the tiny island, that the chances of the Avatar hiding there for a century were slim. Still, it would do no good to dash Zuko's hopes.

"There's still a chance that he's there, Zuko. After all, he doesn't _need _much room to hide. He _is_ just one person."

"I suppose." Zuko acknowledged grudgingly.

Jee came up then, and bowed to them. "Your Highness, I am having the rhinos and Xuan readied for the exploration."

"Thank you, Jee. It doesn't seem that we'll need to take tents with us."

"No, Sir."

"Could you please see to it that my mare is saddled, as well, please, Lieutenant Jee? I'd like to accompany the Prince's retinue." Lan asked.

Zuko and Jee both looked at Lan Chi as if she had gone mad.

"You – you are going to accompany us, my lady?" Jee asked.

Lan looked at Zuko as if he were going to challenge her. "I don't see why not. I may not be a bender, but I _am _an archer, and I have good combat skills."

"Lan, it might be – it very well _could _be – dangerous." Zuko pointed out.

She gave him an indulgent smile. "I am more than capable of taking care of myself."

"Against a master bender of all four elements?" Zuko asked skeptically.

"I can fight!" She said indignantly, glowering at the prince.

Jee's eyes slid to Zuko, then back to Lan Chi.

There seemed to be a war of glares going on between them, and Jee hurriedly excused himself.

After he left, Lan stepped up to Zuko. "I can defend myself, Zuko. You _know _that I can."

He took her arm and gently pulled her into the shadow of the tower. "I know that you can, Lan. Of _course _I do. But this isn't sparring with _me_. It's a fight to the _death_."

"You don't know that." She insisted.

"Every time I go out looking for the Avatar is _possibly _a fight to the death. I don't want you involved."

"You don't want me _involved_?" She asked incredulously. "If you and Uncle are possibly going into a battle to the _death_, I am involved!"

He sighed. "Lan, I don't want to see you be hurt."

She stamped her foot. "Why do you think that I would be?"

"Because it's _possible_. It's my job to protect you – my _sworn _duty."

"Protect me for _what_? Marrying a stranger?"

He gave her a sharp look. "Are you saying you'd rather die than marry your fiancé?"

She was silent for a moment. "I would rather go with you to search for the Avatar." She said solemnly.

"I forbid it."

Her brows arched. "You _forbid_ it? I am _not _a servant, Zuko, or a slave."

He groaned. "Lan. Don't do this."

She grasped both his arms. "I want to _help_, Zuko, and you _always _leave me behind."

"Because it's dangerous."

"I'm not helpless."

"Lan, I don't –"

She interrupted him. "_Please _don't try to stop me."

He looked at her for a long time, wrestling with his decision. "Fine. If we separate, you'll go with _me_, then. No one else. Not even Uncle."

She impulsively threw her arms around his neck, although he set her away from him _almost_ immediately.

"Not here. Someone could see."

She nodded. "I'll go tell Jee to saddle my horse."

He sighed. "I hope that I won't regret this."

"You won't." She assured him, and, with a squeeze to his hand, rushed off to find Jee.

* * *

"So, Lady Lan Chi, I understand that you are accompanying us." Iroh came up beside Lan as she stood, alone, at the railing, watching the rhinos and the ostrich horses being led off the cutter. The ship was anchored in the bay of the small island, and the cutter was acting as tender, ferrying the animals and the crew to shore.

She smiled at him merrily. "Yes, I am."

He gave her a considering look. "You have never shown any interest in participating in the search for the Avatar."

She shrugged. "I never thought that I could help."

"And what has changed?" She was silent, and he nodded knowingly. "Colonel Shinu."

"Yes." She indicated her bow and a quiver of arrows, leaning against the railing. "He told me – he _showed _me – that I am – useful."

"I did not know you ever felt otherwise."

She watched as the crew member who was at Xuan's head tried to control the spirited beast. "I did. I have."

"Why?"

She shrugged again. "I was allowing myself to be put in a – box, I suppose." She mimed the dimensions of a box with her hands. "I am to be a _wife_, a _mother_. Not a warrior."

"But you are."

"Yes, I am. I _can _be, at least. If I choose."

"And you so choose?"

"For now."

"And being a wife and a mother? Have you chosen that, as well?"

"Perhaps." She looked at him. "Yes. I think so. But the question is – _whose_?"

"Are you reconsidering your marriage to Da Baichi?"

Her brows rose. "I _never _considered it. That decision was taken away from me."

"Are you going to go through with it?"

"Have I a choice, Uncle?"

He was silent for a long moment, watching her. "You could run away."

"With Zuko?"

"Yes."

She shook her head. "He would never go. You know that." Iroh was quiet again, and Lan suddenly smiled, although it was a joyless smile. "It's all right, Uncle. You needn't answer. I already know _his _answer. And it's – fine. I have accepted my marriage."

Iroh patted her shoulder, wanting to steer away from a subject that saddened him. "I am glad that you are coming with us."

"So am I."

"And your – _abilities_? Will you use them, if necessary?"

"Only if I must. If we are overwhelmed."

"I don't consider that likely."

"You don't think the Avatar is here?"

Iroh shook his head. "I don't think the Avatar is _anywhere_."

"You think that he's dead."

"The world has been thrown out of balance, Lan Chi. The Avatar is supposed to _maintain _balance. Were he alive, I am certain that he would have made his presence known before now. He would have tried to _restore_ the balance."

"So, if he is dead, the Avatar would have been born into the Water Tribe. Why have we not heard of a new Avatar?"

"Perhaps the new Avatar did not even know he – or she – _is _the Avatar. And, to be frank, that person could be dead, as well."

"And a new Avatar born into the Earth Kingdom."

"And perhaps even born into the Fire Nation again." He pointed out.

Lan sighed. "Well, that would be good, _wouldn't _it, for the Fire Nation?"

Iroh gave her a jaundiced look. "That depends, I suppose, on whom you ask."

"Hmm." Lan considered this. "And if I were to ask _you_?"

Iroh smiled sagely. "I am a prince of the Fire Nation, Lan Chi."

"That is not an answer."

"It is all, I am afraid, that I will give you. You must use your own judgment in this matter."

She sighed and turned back to the scene on the shore. "I wish life were simpler."

Iroh put a comforting arm around her. "That, young lady, is the lament of every adult in this world."

"General Iroh, Lady Lan Chi!" Jee hailed them from the door to the tower. "The cutter is ready."

"Thank you, Jee." Iroh called to him, and he and Lan made their way to the launch. Zuko stood on the deck of the cutter, and extended his hand for her as she descended into the boat.

Although she took it, she shot him a warning look, and he reddened. He released her hand once she was aboard, and then extended his hand to Iroh, who took it with a chuckle.

"Why, thank you, Prince Zuko. My old bones could use extra support every so often." He winked at his nephew, whose color deepened.

Zuko took a seat beside Lan Chi as Jee came aboard, as well.

She leaned over towards Zuko briefly. "_Very _inconspicuous." She whispered, mirth in her voice.

As they approached the island, Lan studied its topography. It was not very large; she definitely felt that they could explore it all in one day. However, there was a steep mountain that rose in the middle of the island, which would probably prove a bit harder to navigate.

She stepped off the cutter, unassisted, clutching her bow and quiver, and waited until the others had disembarked, as well.

Zuko assumed a sternness, and looked around at those surrounding him. "Men," he looked apologetically at Lan, "and Lady Lan Chi, of course. You know why we are here." He pulled, from a jacket pocket, the account of Roku's life given to him by Major General Zheng, and thumbed through it until he came to a map of the island on which they stood. He spread it out for all to see, and pointed at it. "This island can be divided into four _quadrants_ – one here," he pointed at the western third of the island. "One here." He dragged his finger over to the eastern third. "One here." His finger moved to the southern third, then to the middle, where he drew a circle. "And the mountain, in the middle." He tapped the page. "You will be split into groups of _two_ to investigate. Uncle, go with Cho to the east. Jee, you are with Guo to the north. Pang and Chong, you're together, to the west. I will go with Lady Lan Chi up the mountain."

He looked at them all sharply, daring them to comment, but they all, even Iroh, remained silent.

Lan's eyes slid to Zuko, then to her uncle, whose own eyes were looking back at her. She shifted her eyes to the ground guiltily.

Zuko continued. "You all have flares. Should you find some sign of the Avatar, you are _not _to engage him. Send up a flare, and we will all come to _you_. I repeat: you are _not _to face the Avatar without the rest of us."

"Your Highness, Sir." Pang lifted a hand.

"Yes, Pang?" Zuko sounded annoyed.

"What should we do if the Avatar sees us _first_?"

"You retreat and send up the flare as soon as possible."

Pang nodded.

"Now, are we all ready?"

The others nodded, and Zuko responded. "Remember, _nothing _matters but finding the Avatar."

Zuko dismissed them, and they moved off to their respective rhinos, although Iroh lingered.

"A word, please, Prince Zuko." Iroh beckoned Zuko to him.

"What is it, Uncle? I want to have the Avatar in the brig by nightfall."

Iroh nodded. "Of course. But I wonder at the _wisdom _of pairing you with Lan Chi."

"What about it?"

"I don't think it _is_."

"It is _what_?"

"Wise."

"What is?"

"No. It's _not_."

"Not what?"

"Wise."

"Uncle!" Zuko snapped, frustrated. "_Stop this! _I don't know what you're talking about!"

"I'm talking about you and Lan Chi going _unchaperoned _up the mountain!"

Zuko's face was twisted in anger. "What do you _expect_ is going to happen?"

"I don't know, Zuko. You tell me."

"Nothing!" He spat, insulted. "I would _never _dishonor Lan Chi. You should _know _that."

"I _know_ that you are still in love with her, and I suspect that she is _not _indifferent to you." He was not comfortable revealing what he knew to be Lan's true feelings for Zuko.

Zuko drew himself up stiffly. "Regardless of my feelings for Lan, I would _never _insult her so." He sketched a bow to his uncle. "You will just have to trust me, Uncle, that I am not going to have my _wicked _way with her, because I will _not _allow her to be in the company of anyone other than _me_ in such a potentially dangerous situation."

Iroh's brows lowered ominously. "Are you saying that you do not trust _me _to protect my niece from harm? Because, I assure, you, Prince Zuko, that my firebending is second to _none _in the Fire Nation." The words _including you_, although not spoken, were tacitly expressed.

Zuko's own look became thunderous. "But your _reflexes _are not."

Iroh became red in the face, but said nothing.

Zuko stepped back and turned to march over to Lan Chi, standing by her ostrich horse.

"Is everything all right, Zuko?" She asked warily.

"Mount up, Lan. We're going."

He helped her into the saddle under the watchful eye of Iroh, who stood nearby.

Zuko mounted Xuan with difficulty; the high-strung animal sensed disquiet in his master's demeanor, and was agitated. The prince calmed the animal with little trouble, though, and pulled him closer to the others now mounting their rhinos.

"Remember: do _not _engage him. Use a flare, and we will come to you."

He turned Xuan around with a jerk and began cantering from the beach.

Lan took her horse over to Iroh, who was being assisted to mount a rhino by Cho. "Uncle, is all well with you and Zuko?" She asked, anxious that he and Zuko had fought.

He nodded, and, for her sake, smiled. "Just a bit of a disagreement. Nothing important. But, please, be careful, Lan. This island could hold unexpected surprises."

Controlling her horse, she leaned forward and grasped his hand. "You as well, Uncle. Please."

He smiled again. "It will take more than an elderly Avatar to hurt me, my dear."

She smiled back, and, with a nod, followed Zuko, while Iroh watched her departure with concern.

* * *

Zuko and Lan were, by necessity, mostly silent for the first few hours of their expedition, picking their way, single file, up into the mountain. There were no discernible paths, although there were clearings between boulders and plants that offered them passage. The ostrich horses, however, balked at a human being on their backs up some of the steep paths that Zuko found, so he and Lan found themselves leading the recalcitrant animals as much as they rode them.

As they progressed, Zuko checked for signs of habitation, such as marks of recently extinguished fires, vegetation torn away, recently moved boulders, or anything else that would indicate someone living on the island, but he found none.

It did not discourage him, however. He was certain that the Avatar was here, on this island. He had to be.

He stopped to survey the area around them.

"Look," he said, pointing farther up the mountain.

She stopped and squinted up at where he pointed. "What?"

"Those boulders, there. They were moved." He pointed at two like-sized large boulders that sat next to one another far up the mountain.

"How can you tell?" She asked.

His finger trailed behind the boulders. "Look at the tracks behind them."

"They're smooth stone. Oh. The boulders were bent up there."

"Yes." Zuko dropped his hand. "They were."

"So the Avatar _was _here."

"_An _Earthbender was here. Perhaps the Avatar was here. Possibly only Roku." He sighed, and pulled out the book that had brought him to the island. "There are mentions in here about caves that Roku created, near the top of the mountain. We should try to find them."

"He could be living in one of them."

Zuko nodded, and stared up at the peak. "Oh, Lan..." He groaned. "What if he's not here?"

"Hey." She put a hand on his arm. "We'll _find _him, Zuko." He turned to look at her, and she cradled his face in her hands. "We will." She leaned forward, and kissed him gently. "We will." She whispered.

He nodded, and put his forehead against hers.

She smiled. "Let's go."

They continued up the mountain, pulling their horses behind them. Occasionally, Zuko would turn his eyes to the sky, looking for signs of a flare that would tell him that the others had encountered the Avatar, but there were none.

They came upon a cave, and, after tying the animals to nearby trees, cautiously investigated the area.

"No signs of a campfire." Lan whispered.

Zuko nodded. "No trampling of vegetation, either." He whispered back. "But that doesn't mean anything. This cave could have another opening."

"Should we go in or should we send up a flare?"

He shook his head. "No flare. We don't even know if it's occupied. If we find signs of life, we'll come back out and send one up."

She nodded, and they ventured cautiously into the opening, Zuko with his fists ready, and Lan with her bow.

The cave was dark, and Zuko had to bring forth a small flame to light their way. It was also rather long, and they followed it for several minutes before they reached the end.

There was evidence that flutterbats used the cave, as well as cave hoppers, but there was no sign of human life.

Silently, Zuko grimly shook his head, and they made their way back to the entrance.

As they untied their horses, he sighed in disappointment.

"Just because he wasn't in that cave doesn't mean we won't find him." Lan said gently.

"I know." Zuko said crisply, making it apparent that he did not want to talk about it.

Lan compressed her lips in sympathy; this search was _destroying_ Zuko. His anxiety over finding the Avatar was almost palpable. She looked up at the sky. "Do you think we missed a flare?"

He peered up into the sky critically. "I don't see any residual smoke. But, look." He pointed at ominous black clouds forming over the ocean.

"Might rain."

"Yes."

They proceeded up the mountain as the clouds continued to build, and investigated a few other small caves that all proved to be empty of signs of human habitation.

As they exited the next cave, the sky was rumbling with thunder, and the horses were prancing with agitation.

"Should we turn back?" Lan asked, concern in her voice.

"Absolutely not." Zuko untied both horses, handed Lan the reins of her own animal, and preceded her up the mountain.

With one last apprehensive look at the heavy clouds, Lan followed him.

They were climbing up to a small plateau when the heavens opened, and rained poured down on them. Zuko pointed to a small rock overhang, and they darted there, pulling their obstinate birds behind them, with Xuan squawking his displeasure the entire way.

The shelter was large enough to accommodate all four of them, although the presence of the horses forced Lan and Zuko to stand nearly pressed together as the animals shuffled in place and jostled them.

They peered out at the torrents of rain, hitting the ground with such force that the water drops bounced off the rocky ground and sprayed upwards.

Lan gave Zuko a weak smile as her horse knocked her into the prince, and he was forced to put his hands up to hold her steady.

"Sorry." She whispered, mindful of his closeness.

He nodded as he stared at her, his throat dry, remembering his earlier pledge to Iroh. With their bodies touching, and their breath mingling, he wondered how long he could control himself. Her own eyes were fixed on his face, unable to look away.

"Zuko." She whispered, plaintively, but whether she was encouraging him or discouraging him, she did not know.

"Oh, spirits take it all!" He said with exasperation, and pulled her fully into his arms.

His lips covered hers, and she opened her mouth to him, allowing his tongue to enter. She gave a small groan of pleasure, and he tightened his arms around her, bringing her even closer.

She pulled her lips away. "Your armor, Zuko. It's poking into me."

"Oh." He released her and began pulling at the ties that secured the armor, and, with fumbling fingers, she assisted him.

He tossed the armor to the ground, yanked her back into his arms, and kissed her again.

She put her arms under his and her hands up over his shoulders, trying to force him lower.

_Only kisses, Zuko. _He reminded himself. _Nothing more._

Disregarding his own words, his lips left hers and dipped to her collarbone.

Her hands feverishly went to the hidden closings on the front of his jacket, and began to undo them, intending to slide the jacket from his body so that she could feel the hardness of his flesh rather than the thickness of his uniform. Zuko's hands dropped to her buttocks, and he squeezed them gently, pulling her pelvis closer to him so that his erection was pressed against her abdomen.

Just then, they heard a distressed bleating, and Lan opened her eyes to see that Xuan had gone out into the rain, and his reins were now caught on a bush.

"Zuko."

He lifted his head, and sighed. "Damn bird."

Leaving Lan in the shelter of the overhang, he ran across the plateau to where the horse was imprisoned, and freed it, dragging it back under cover.

The horse shook its feathers imperiously, spraying the two humans, although Zuko himself was already thoroughly drenched.

Lan laughed, and stole a look at Zuko. "You're wetter than Xuan."

He grinned at her. "_Now _I am." Making certain that he kept a firm hold on the reins of both animals, he tugged on her hand, and she walked into his arms. "Does that mean you don't want me to touch you?"

"Not at all." She kissed him, and he smoothed the hair back from her face with loving fingers.

"I just have to be careful where I touch." He smiled.

"That's Uncle Iroh speaking."

"A little bit. All right. A _lot_." He admitted. "He told me to behave myself."

"Are you saying that he _knows _about us?"

He shook his head. "I don't think so. He just knows how I feel about you."

She smiled. "And _how _exactly do you feel about me?"

He gave a small smile, as well. "I _admire _you."

"You _admire _me?" Her brows shot up.

"Of course. You're _very _admirable."

"Thank you. And?"

"And – what?"

"How else do you feel?"

He kissed the tip of her nose playfully. "I think you know how I feel. Ah, look. The rain's stopping."

She rolled her eyes as he stepped to the edge of the overhang to look up into the sky. Nonetheless, she slipped her arms around his torso from behind, and pressed a kiss to his shirted back. "I think that I do." She whispered, although he did not hear her.

* * *

The rest of the expedition, though relatively dry, was fruitless. Although they found several more caves, none had signs of human life.

Zuko, frustrated and angry that their search had been unproductive, was silent and sullen as they made their way back down the mountain.

The sun was setting, though, and the island was bathed in a rosy glow that made everything look dreamy and ethereal, and Lan stopped Zuko with a hand on his arm. "It's all right." She whispered. "He's somewhere else. We'll find him."

He gave a weary sigh. "I'm tired of looking."

He turned and walked ahead of her, again, leaving her staring after him, pain for him etched into her features.

By the time they reached the beach, twilight had fallen, and the other six men were waiting for them.

"You found nothing?" He asked them.

Iroh shook his head. "No sign of anyone living here. I'm sorry, Zuko."

The prince shook his head. "It's all right, Uncle. He's somewhere else. We'll find him."

* * *

**Author's Notes: ** I hoped that you enjoyed the chapter. PLEASE review so that I reach my ambition of being among the most reviewed Avatar fanfics! I noted that not many people reviewed the last chapter, and I was very sad. : (

I don't know if you know this, but sad authors don't feel inspired to write. ; )


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